Additional 45,000 Units to Arrive Tomorrow
[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] Tertiary general hospitals, general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and rehabilitation medical institutions can now independently prescribe the oral COVID-19 antiviral treatment 'Paxlovid.'
According to the Central Disease Control Headquarters on the 8th, from this day forward, the institutions authorized to prescribe oral antiviral treatments have been expanded to include tertiary general hospitals, general hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and rehabilitation medical institutions.
Until the day before, medical institutions authorized to prescribe oral antiviral treatments included home treatment medical consultation centers, home treatment management medical institutions, residential treatment centers managing hospitalized or admitted patients, elderly nursing facilities and nursing hospitals, infectious disease specialized hospitals, infectious disease specialized nursing hospitals, respiratory clinics capable of face-to-face treatment, and neighborhood clinics and hospitals designated as respiratory treatment medical institutions.
The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency explained that the expansion of prescribing institutions targets facilities where cohort isolation is implemented due to confirmed cases and where there is a need to strengthen treatment support.
Meanwhile, on the 9th, an additional 45,000 doses of Paxlovid will be introduced domestically.
The government has so far signed advance purchase contracts for a total of 1,004,000 doses, combining 762,000 doses of Paxlovid and 242,000 doses of another oral antiviral treatment, Merck & Company's (MSD) 'Molnupiravir.' The initial shipment of 21,000 doses of Paxlovid arrived on January 13, and including the shipment arriving on the 9th, a total supply of 163,000 doses of Paxlovid will be completed.
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