Kwon Deok-cheol "Pre-purchased 604,000 Oral Treatment Doses... Administration Starting Late Next Month"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] The government is negotiating a pre-purchase contract for 604,000 courses of oral COVID-19 treatments and securing additional supplies. It is expected that oral treatments will be administered to COVID-19 patients starting from the end of January next year.

Kwon Deok-cheol, First Deputy Head of the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters (Minister of Health and Welfare), stated in his opening remarks at the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures meeting held at the Government Complex Sejong on the 27th, "Following the United States, our government is also swiftly proceeding with the emergency use authorization process for oral treatments," adding, "Detailed information will be reported to the public by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency this afternoon."

Deputy Head Kwon said, "It has been ten days since we temporarily paused the phased return to normal life," and "Fortunately, the daily number of confirmed cases, which had been soaring, is showing signs of slowing down, and the number of patients waiting for hospital beds has decreased from about 1,000 to around 200."

However, the government judged that the situation cannot be taken lightly. The current decrease in confirmed cases is temporary, and due to the Omicron variant, it is difficult to predict when the numbers might rise again.

Deputy Head Kwon stated, "The government is making every effort together with the medical community to resolve the COVID-19 hospital bed issue," and "On December 22, an additional administrative order was issued to 31 tertiary general hospitals to secure 306 more severe care beds."

He also urged the public to actively participate in vaccination, as the effectiveness of vaccines is clear.

Deputy Head Kwon emphasized, "The proportion of severe cases among those who have received the second dose is 0.8 per 100 people, whereas it is 4.2 per 100 among the unvaccinated, which is five times higher. Additionally, the death rate is 0.3 per 100 for the second dose recipients, compared to 1.2 per 100 for the unvaccinated, which is four times higher."

He explained, "Thanks to the active participation of the elderly in the third dose vaccination, the proportion of confirmed cases aged 60 and over decreased from about 35% in the first week of December to 25%, and particularly, the proportion of severe cases aged 80 and over dropped from 21% to 14% during the same period."

He added, "A recent UK study reported that the third dose of existing vaccines shows an 80% infection prevention effect against Omicron. As countries in Europe such as the UK, Germany, and France are shortening the interval for the third dose to respond to Omicron, we ask everyone to complete their vaccinations promptly."

Deputy Head Kwon said, "Starting today, the COVID-19 support fund for small business owners will be distributed," and "Applications for the support fund will be processed online following the guidance text messages sent from today."

He emphasized that to gain the upper hand in the ongoing war against the continuously mutating COVID-19 and to minimize damage, it is necessary to respond with the optimal strategy at each moment.

Deputy Head Kwon mentioned, "A hopeful domestic development is that a PCR reagent capable of identifying Omicron has been developed, enabling rapid detection of Omicron within 3 to 4 hours nationwide starting this Thursday."

He continued, "The government plans to discuss with the Recovery Support Committee this week whether to extend social distancing measures," adding, "Although it is a difficult decision due to factors such as the spread of Omicron, the continuous increase in severe cases, and the potential for infection spread during year-end and New Year gatherings, the government will do its utmost to protect the lives and health of the people."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.