COVID-19 is on the rise in summer...Health authorities will check the distribution of Paxlovid, an edible treatment
Aug 06, 2025
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The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on the 6th that Deputy Chief Lim Sook-young will visit a dispensary and respiratory clinic in Seoul to check the actual operation of the site and listen to on-site opinions so that the treatment taken by high-risk COVID-19 patients can be quickly prescribed and prepared. The purpose is to minimize on-site confusion after Paxlovid was converted to full-scale commercial distribution as of June 1 and to discuss supplementary measures to secure access to treatments for the vulnerable.
Paxlovid, an edible treatment prescribed to severely ill COVID-19 patients or mild patients at high risk of progressing to severe disease, was purchased by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from pharmaceutical companies and supplied to pharmacies, but since June, pharmacies and medical institutions have completely switched to a commercial distribution system that is purchased and used by pharmaceutical companies.
The patient's out-of-pocket is about 47,000 won per pack (30 tablets), but the cost of the drug is close to 1 million won if the cost of the Health Insurance Corporation is added together.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention believes that pharmacies first pay pharmaceutical companies for drugs and keep them in stock, and when drugs are actually sold, they have to charge patients and industrial complexes for drugs, so there are few pharmacies that have a large amount of supplies in the first place. In this case, even a slight increase in patients can quickly run out of stock.
On the 30th of last month, the Korean Medical Association's Infectious Disease Response Committee said, "Since the public was prescribed a treatment at a medical institution, it has been difficult to purchase drugs from nearby pharmaciesHe also publicly demanded that the government take measures to ensure that COVID-19 treatments are supplied smoothly to front-line pharmacies.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, "As the main office for responding to infectious diseases, we plan to strengthen cooperation systems with related organizations such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, and the Pharmaceutical Affairs Association for the smooth preparation and supply of COVID-19-eating treatments. In particular, we will closely examine major difficulties at the site revealed after the transition to market distribution, and seek improvement measures through consultations between related organizations regarding matters that need to be supplemented." In addition, he stressed that the policy direction will be continuously supplemented so that high-risk groups can be treated in a timely manner by operating smoothly based on the on-site opinions of the pharmacy.
Meanwhile, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's sample monitoring of hospital-level medical institutions, the number of COVID-19 hospitalized patients is gradually increasing every week from 63 in the 26th week of this year, the end of June, to 139 in the 30th week (July 20-26).
This article was translated by Naver AI translator.
