This week we mark anniversary of the vaccine rollout in Australia. In just 12 months, long months though they seemed at the time, we adapted to this new technology and collectively rolled out 2 doses to over 95% of our adult community and followed this up with a 3rd dose to over 60%. While we’ll revisit vaccines in next weeks series, it is the other biological interventions for SARS COV2 that we’ll be discussing today and marking a new milestone in the legacy of this pandemic: oral antivirals.One month ago, the oral antivirals molnupiravir (Lagevrio) and nirmatrelvir + ritonavir (Paxlovid) were approved by the TGA for use by eligible patients and to be distributed at first through the national medical stockpile to priority populations as prescribed by their GP.The questions we’ll be asking this morning are:* How do these oral antivirals compare and differ? * Who is eligible for these therapies and in whom would sotrovimab infusion or paxlovid be preferred? * What are the drug interactions, adverse effects and contr-indications that we need to be aware of prior to prescribing? * What are some of the practical issues in regards to administration? * How do we in the primary care sector work with our colleagues in health services, RACFS and ACCHOS to consider priorisation of these medications? * How will the national medical stockpile work and how will GPs and or patients access these medications in a timely manner? * What is forecast for this medication in regards to it’s availability through the PBS?

AGENDA Dr Kate Graham, GP and Clinical Editor Health Pathways and COVID Clinical Advisor Western Victoria PHN * Policy and resources update * Dr Raquel Cowan, Head of Infectious Diseases, Ballarat Health Service * Oral antiviral therapy and how to access it * Dr Nom Mothobi, ID Physician, Barwon Health and Barwon South West Public Health Unit * Accessing oral antivirals in the Barwon South West region * Linda Govan,* Regional Senior Manager, Western Victoria PHN * •PHN Update

Recorded on Thursday 24th February, 2022Western Victoria PHN Project ECHO HubCOVID-19 ECHO TeamBianca Forrester (Facilitator)Jemma Missbach, Katrina Martin (ECHO Co-ordinators)Fiona Quigley, Workforce ManagementJayde Buller, audio production