Go to contents

Nine take Covid-19 pills; many see improvement in symptoms

Nine take Covid-19 pills; many see improvement in symptoms

Posted January. 17, 2022 08:30,   

Updated January. 17, 2022 08:30

한국어

Patients who have been prescribed with the COVID-19 pill for the first time have seen their symptoms improve.

“There are variances between individuals, but many of the nine people who were administered with the oral treatment have seen their symptoms improve,” the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency said Sunday. A total of nine people were prescribed with Paxlovid, Pfizer’s coronavirus pill, for the first time in Korea on Friday, with all of them taking treatment at home. By region, three of them live in Seoul, three in Daegu, two in Gyeonggi and one in Daejeon.

The first patient who has taken the drug is a 70-something man in Daejeon. He had COVID-19 symptoms including cough on Thursday and was diagnosed with the coronavirus in Friday morning. He received telemedicine service provided by Daejeon Korea Hospital while being treated at home. The doctor examined the patient to check his health and underlying health conditions, referred to the Drug Utilization Review to learn he had not been taking any drugs banned from use in combination with Paxlovid, and decided to prescribe him with Paxlovid. A pharmacist in the patient’s neighborhood prepared the medicine and handed over to him. “We checked the patient’s health conditions about one to two hours after he took the medication,” a source in the quarantine authority said.

Only a volume of Paxlovid enough for treatment of 21,000 patients have been secured for use for three weeks (January 14 – February 3) in Korea, and the drug will be prescribed to mostly senior citizens aged 65 years and older and the immunocompromised. A volume of the pills for 13,337 patients in total were transported to pharmacies and community treatment centers across the country on Friday and Saturday.


Keun-Hyung Yoo noel@donga.com