Sydeny, If you’re aged over 70, or over 50 with underlying health conditions, and have tested positive for COVID, you might have been offered free or subsidised antivirals.
The Lagevrio trial reported no statistical difference in hospitalisation or death in people who did and didn’t receive treatment. But our new research suggests that with high levels of vaccination and immunity from previous infections, COVID antivirals are no longer working as well. Existing influenza antivirals, which had been stockpiled by governments, were ineffective and couldn’t be used. Paxlovid and Lagevrio are expensive. What did we study and find? The other was a trial of people in hospital who were treated with Paxlovid. It found no difference in the people treated and not treated. We pooled the results from the studies to estimate the effectiveness for each drug against hospitalisation and death.
From no treatment to an effective one When SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID, first emerged in late 2019, no treatment was available. A course of treatment cost the government around A$1,100 from 2022 to 2025, much more than the treatment for influenza, oseltamivir , which is only around $40. In phase two of our research, we looked at the 35 observational studies, where researchers can include many more people but can’t control who gets the treatment.
