"Oral Treatment Causes Persistent Bitter Taste... Safe to Take with Tylenol"

On the afternoon of the 19th, medical staff at the Home Treatment Situation Room of Seongnam Medical Center in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi Province, are conducting non-face-to-face consultations with COVID-19 home treatment patients. If the medical staff determine through the remote consultation that Paxlovid administration is necessary, they can prescribe it to the patient. Pharmacies receiving the prescription then prepare the medication and deliver it to the patient. 2022.01.19 Photo by Joint Press Corps

[Asia Economy Reporter Seo So-jeong] "When I took the oral antiviral medication, I experienced a bitter taste. It disappeared after three to four hours."

Mr. Kwon Gil-ho (a pseudonym), a man in his 60s who recently tested positive for COVID-19 and took the oral antiviral medication Paxlovid, said, "Other than the bitter taste after taking the medicine, I did not experience any significant side effects," adding, "I drank plenty of water, and the bitter taste went away after three to four hours."

Mr. Kwon, who completed his primary vaccination with the AstraZeneca vaccine, was diagnosed with COVID-19 on the 17th and began home treatment on the 18th. He was prescribed Paxlovid on the day home treatment started, received the medication three hours later, and began taking it the next day, the 19th.

Mr. Kwon said, "My body temperature was around 37 degrees Celsius, and my muscle pain worsened, so I considered taking Tylenol, but I was worried about taking it together with the oral antiviral medication, so I did not take it," adding, "It is concerning that there are many medications that should not be taken together."

Choi Bo-mi, the head nurse at the COVID-19 Home Treatment Situation Room at Seongnam City Medical Center in Gyeonggi Province, which monitors Mr. Kwon's health, explained, "If symptoms worsen, you can take the comprehensive cold medicine provided by the public health center," and added, "If you are struggling with symptoms, do not force yourself to endure them; it is okay to take medications like Tylenol that can be used concurrently."

Nurse Choi advised, "When Paxlovid is first provided, the pharmacist gives medication guidance, and the patient receives an explanation about medications that should not be taken together. If you have any questions or concerns during home treatment, you can call the home treatment monitoring center for inquiries."

On the 19th, an official at the Home Treatment Situation Room of Seongnam City Medical Center in Gyeonggi-do is checking the symptoms of a patient undergoing home treatment while taking 'Paxlovid' via a video call. 2022.01.21.

Seongnam City Medical Center began prescribing Paxlovid on the 14th, and so far, no significant adverse reactions have been reported among those who have taken it. Nurse Choi said, "Sometimes symptoms like diarrhea, taste changes, or muscle pain may occur, but among the seven current patients taking the medication, only one reported diarrhea," adding, "Other patients did not report side effects other than the bitter taste."

Infectious disease specialist Dr. Chae Yoon-tae explained, "One patient was taking statins for hyperlipidemia, but statins should not be taken during the Paxlovid treatment period," and added, "Through telemedicine, after reviewing symptoms and concurrent medications through various questionnaires, if it is deemed safe to take the medication, it is prescribed with the patient's consent."

Paxlovid must be taken within five days of symptom onset to be effective, so rapid delivery of the medication is crucial, making it important to have an efficient delivery system. In Seongnam, recent heavy snowfall has caused difficulties in medication delivery. Dr. Chae said, "When a prescription is made, it goes to the pharmacy, and the pharmacy delivers the medication to the patient via a quick delivery service," adding, "Since Seongnam's old town area is mountainous, there are times when quick delivery workers cannot work due to heavy snow."

In cases where prescriptions are needed during nighttime or early morning hours when pharmacies are closed, the issue is resolved by connecting patients to 24-hour duty pharmacies through the public health center. Dr. Chae said, "There may be urgent cases requiring medication or hospital visits at night," but added, "So far, such cases have been rare, and there have been no emergency prescriptions issued during early morning hours."

The authorities initially expected to administer the initial supply of 21,000 doses of Paxlovid to more than 1,000 people per day, but the current number of patients taking the medication is in the double digits, far below expectations. Due to many contraindicated medications and complicated prescription procedures, full-scale prescribing has not been realized.

Accordingly, the government announced this morning that the eligibility for Paxlovid administration will be expanded from those aged 65 and older to those aged 60 and older, and that the supply, which was previously limited to home treatment patients and residential treatment centers, will be extended to nursing hospitals, nursing facilities, and infectious disease specialized hospitals.