October 13, 2026
The rapid availability of vaccinations means that antivirals were something of an afterthought during the response to COVID-19. Antivirals may prove to be much more important in future pandemics.
Timely access to COVID-19 antivirals is essential for high-risk populations; however, access remains inequitable for many multicultural communities.
This study explored access to COVID antivirals among individuals from multicultural backgrounds, with a focus on understanding the nuanced barriers and facilitators influencing uptake. Focus groups with frontline and multicultural support workers supporting people from multicultural backgrounds provided a critical understanding of the challenges encountered around COVID antiviral therapies, information and messaging.
Recommendations for future pandemic preparedness
Drawing upon the frontline and support workers’ experiences during the pandemic, several recommendations were generated:
- Early engagement with multicultural health service providers and trusted/respected community members to build trust in pandemic-related responses and novel medications during the planning and rollout phases is essential.
- The value of accredited training programs enabling pharmacists to prescribe and dispense novel antivirals via virtual pharmacy or telehealth platforms is critical to ensuring timely access and dispensing.
- Clear communication at the individual, community and provider level is essential:
a. Clinicians, including GPs, need to engage with healthcare interpreters when communicating with people from multicultural backgrounds about novel medications to foster trust and improve understanding.
b. Targeted communication in-language to multicultural communities is required to support their access to information about novel medications delivered through both verbal and written formats.
c. Clear communication and guidelines targeted to clinicians, including GPs and pharmacists, as well as multicultural health workers, about pandemic-related information and medications must be prioritised.
Putu Novi Arfirsta Dharmayani, Catherine MacPhail, Delia Rambaldini-Gooding, Chris Degeling. Barriers for uptake of COVID antivirals in multicultural communities – Exploring health service provider’s reflections on inequities, Global Public Health, 21(1), 2026. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2026.2735661