South Korea gets first supply of Pfizer's COVID-19 pills

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea connected Thursday received its archetypal proviso of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pills to dainty patients with mild oregon mean symptoms.

Health officials person described the Paxlovid pills arsenic a perchance important instrumentality to suppress hospitalizations and deaths, arsenic the state braces for different imaginable surge successful infections driven by the contagious omicron variant.

South Korea’s archetypal proviso is capable to enactment the required five-day attraction courses for 21,000 people. Officials accidental different batch of pills, capable to supply the required five-day courses for 10,000 people, volition travel by the extremity of January.

Workers were seen unloading containers of the pills from a level astatine Incheon International Airport. The pills volition beryllium moved to a pharmaceutical warehouse successful cardinal South Korea earlier being administered to patients nationwide starting Friday.

Because supplies of Paxlovid volition beryllium choky astatine the commencement amid planetary shortages, the pills volition initially beryllium disposable lone to patients 65 years oregon older who are being treated astatine location oregon successful shelters for mild oregon mean symptoms.

“In objective trials, this cause has showed it could trim the hazard of hospitalizations oregon deaths by 88%, truthful we are hoping for a akin level of (real world) effectiveness,” said Lim Sook-young, a elder authoritative successful the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency.

South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is besides reviewing whether to assistance an exigency usage authorization for Merck’s antiviral COVID-19 pills, Molnupiravir.

South Korea grappled successful caller months with a devastating delta-driven surge that caused a spike successful hospitalizations and deaths, but transmissions person slowed aft officials imposed the country’s strictest-ever microorganism restrictions successful mid-December. The rules see a prohibition connected backstage societal gatherings of 5 oregon much radical nationwide and a request that restaurants, java shops, gyms and karaoke venues adjacent by 9 p.m.

But officials accidental the microorganism could regain velocity successful the coming weeks owed to the dispersed of the omicron variant, which is apt to go the country’s ascendant strain by the extremity of this month. Son Youngrae, a elder Health Ministry official, said astir 12% of infections confirmed past week were of the omicron strain, which helium said could relationship for much than 50% of cases wrong 1 oregon 2 weeks.

Experts accidental omicron, which has already go ascendant successful galore countries, spreads much easy than different coronavirus strains. It besides much easy infects those who person been vaccinated oregon had antecedently been infected by anterior versions of the virus. However, aboriginal studies amusement omicron is little apt to origin terrible unwellness than the delta variant, and that vaccination and booster shots inactive connection beardown extortion from superior illness, hospitalization and death.

The KDCA reported 4,167 caller cases of the microorganism connected Thursday, including a grounds 391 cases linked to planetary passengers. Officials accidental astir 90% of cases linked to planetary passengers were omicron cases.