Oral Antiviral Paxlovid for 222,000 People to Be Introduced Domestically on April 4-5

Pfizer's oral COVID-19 treatment Paxlovid [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] An additional 220,000 doses of Pfizer's oral COVID-19 treatment, Paxlovid, will be introduced.

On the 2nd, the Central Disease Control Headquarters announced that 222,000 doses of Paxlovid will be additionally imported into the country on April 4-5. Accordingly, the total amount of Paxlovid introduced domestically will increase from the existing 252,000 doses to 474,000 doses. As of April 1, 156,000 doses of Paxlovid have been used domestically, and the remaining stock is 96,000 doses.

On March 31, the Presidential Transition Committee's COVID-19 Emergency Response Special Committee, chaired by Ahn Cheol-soo, in consultation with the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency and Pfizer, decided to expedite the introduction of 222,000 doses of Paxlovid, which are scheduled to be brought in by the earliest flight transport in early April.

Meanwhile, 100,000 doses of Merck & Company (MSD)'s oral treatment Lagevrio have been introduced. As of April 1, 3,000 doses of Lagevrio have been prescribed, leaving 97,000 doses remaining.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters stated, "We will secure sufficient oral treatments and actively utilize them to minimize severe cases and deaths among high-risk groups."

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