Covid-19

COVID-19

Taiwan orders Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill as infections rise

Taiwan orders Pfizer’s Covid-19 pill as infections rise
A pharmacist displays a case of Paxlovid, a COVID-19 treatment pills developed by Pfizer Inc., at a drugstore in Seoul, South Korea, 21 February 2022. The age restriction on the administration of the pills to those with underlying diseases was lowered to 40 from 50. EPA-EFE/YONHAP SOUTH KOREA OUT

TAIPEI, April 11 (Reuters) - Taiwan has ordered 700,000 units of Pfizer Inc's PFE.N anti-viral COVID-19 pill Paxlovid, its health minister said on Monday, amid a steady increase in the number of infections as the government pledges to gradually reopen its borders.

Taiwan has kept the pandemic well under control thanks to strict and early control measures. But daily infections have been rising in recent weeks, with 439 new cases reported on Monday, the second highest daily increase this year.

The government is on alert even though the numbers remain comparatively low and health ministry data shows 99.6% of those infected so far this year showed mild or no symptoms.

Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said the pills ordered would be enough to cover 3% of Taiwan’s population, with half of them due to arrive in the second quarter this year.

“The medication could prevent serious illness and is very helpful for overall pandemic prevention,” Chen told reporters.

Since the beginning of this year, Taiwan has reported 3,976 domestic cases, with only 13 people classified as being seriously ill and just two deaths.

Taiwan has maintained mandatory mask wearing and almost 80% of the population have had two vaccine shots while more than 50% have had three.

It is gradually relaxing quarantine rules for all arrivals on the island, but most foreigners apart from residents are still barred from entry.

(Reporting By Yimou Lee; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Gallery

"Information pertaining to Covid-19, vaccines, how to control the spread of the virus and potential treatments is ever-changing. Under the South African Disaster Management Act Regulation 11(5)(c) it is prohibited to publish information through any medium with the intention to deceive people on government measures to address COVID-19. We are therefore disabling the comment section on this article in order to protect both the commenting member and ourselves from potential liability. Should you have additional information that you think we should know, please email [email protected]"

Please peer review 3 community comments before your comment can be posted

We would like our readers to start paying for Daily Maverick...

…but we are not going to force you to. Over 10 million users come to us each month for the news. We have not put it behind a paywall because the truth should not be a luxury.

Instead we ask our readers who can afford to contribute, even a small amount each month, to do so.

If you appreciate it and want to see us keep going then please consider contributing whatever you can.

Support Daily Maverick→
Payment options

Become a Maverick Insider

This could have been a paywall

On another site this would have been a paywall. Maverick Insider keeps our content free for all.

Become an Insider

Every seed of hope will one day sprout.

South African citizens throughout the country are standing up for our human rights. Stay informed, connected and inspired by our weekly FREE Maverick Citizen newsletter.