Taiwan has purchased 700,000 doses of Paxlovid, an oral antiviral treatment for COVID-19 from pharmaceutical company Pfizer. Health Minister Chen Shih-chung says the first 350,000 doses should come during the second quarter of the year.
Pfizer’s study results showed that Paxlovid reduced the risk of COVID-related hospitalization or death by 89%. COVID patients can take them orally in the form of a pill.
Chen says one Paxlovid dose costs around US$800. Taiwan is importing enough Paxlovid for 3% of the population.
Meanwhile, Chen says health officials are also closing a deal to import more BNT-Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines. Chen says that the deal includes doses that can be administered to children aged 5 to 11 years old. Though Taiwan has not authorized giving jabs to children under 12, the health minister said Taiwan should make preparations for such a policy.