With COVID cases rising, Taiwan is beginning to let people collect medicine on behalf of their loved ones. But there is still some confusion over who should get what kind of treatment.
As COVID cases rise, more people are finding themselves in isolation. In response, on Friday the government began allowing friends and family of people with COVID to collect medicine on their behalf.
Dr. Lin Ying-ran says that he mostly believes people when they say they’re coming to get medicine for someone else. He adds that if he is suspicious of the person, he will call the patient to confirm their information.
Patient’s loved ones have to fill out information on the patient’s symptoms and level of risk before collecting their medicine.
But doctors also complain that diagnosing patients with positive rapid tests by video is too demanding. Some report taking 30 minutes to diagnose one patient.
Lin says that if he can’t find the right documentation online, he has no way of confirming a patient’s diagnosis.
Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je says that patients should be able to get their antiviral medication after receiving a diagnosis at a hospital or clinic. But some doctors disagree.
Lin says that though all patients can receive treatment, only those in high-risk groups should be able to get antiviral medications like Paxlovid.