GPs can now prescribe COVID-19 antivirals on the PBS to any patient aged 70 or older with a positive test regardless of whether they have risk factors or symptoms.   

The Federal Government expanded PBS access to nirmatrelvir/ritonavir (Paxlovid) and molnupiravir (Lagevrio) to “millions more” Australians on Monday in a bid to prevent hospitalisations amid a new wave of COVID-19 cases.   

All patients aged 70 or over will now be eligible, with the rules around risk factors removed entirely for this age group.

The minimum age for PBS-funded treatment of patients with at least two risk factors has been lowered from 65 to 50 for non-Indigenous patients and from 50 to 30 for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.