South Korea will use the new crown oral drug from the 14th, which is suitable for patients who have been infected for less than 5 days

Yoo Geun-hyuk, the first overall coordinator of the South Korea Central Disaster Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, said at a regular press conference on January 12 local time that the first batch of new coronavirus oral drugs ordered by South Korea from Pfizer, 21,000 copies of Paxlovid, will arrive in South Korea on the 13th and be officially put into use on the 14th.

Pfizer's COVID-19 oral drug Paxlovid

Yonhap News Agency quoted Liu Genhe as saying on the 12th that from the 14th, South Korea can provide oral drugs to more than 1,000 new crown patients every day. The introduction of the new crown oral drug Palo Verde will be used in cases where symptoms do not exceed 5 days and the condition may worsen from mild to moderate. The first deliveries will be used first for cases over the age of 65 who are immunocompromised but are being treated at home or in a designated isolation treatment facility.

Lin Shuying, director of the Crisis Response Bureau of the Department of Disease Management, said that from the current epidemic situation, the first batch of arrivals can be fully used for mild or even moderate cases, and it is expected that in the early stage of delivery, for patients over 65 years old or with low immunity, there will be no shortage of goods.

From the 10th to the 11th of this month, the South Korean government has conducted preparatory training for local governments, management medical institutions, outpatient centers, designated pharmacies, etc., and on the same day, the designated isolation facilities and cities, counties and districts across the country also carried out drug rehearsals.

It is reported that South Korea will fully supply COVID-19 oral drugs free of charge. Sun Yinglai, head of the social strategy team of the Central Emergency Response Headquarters, said that regardless of whether patients are vaccinated or not, the government will provide free drugs according to symptoms and needs.