Beijing is facing a tough time while dealing with the COVID-19 surge which has overwhelmed the healthcare system. In order to manage the current situation, the officials have decided to distribute the COVID-19 drug Paxlovid by Pfizer to the community health centres in the city in the upcoming days. The recent decision has been taken as the city is experiencing a sudden surge in the infections which has put a strain on the hospitals and also emptied the inventories of the pharmacies.
Local news agency has reported that after receiving training, the community doctors will be administering the medicine to the COVID-19 patients and will also educate them on how to use them. As of now Paxlovid is the only foreign medicine to treat COVID that is approved by the regulator in China for nationwide use. Access to the medicine continues to be a problem. One of the Chinese healthcare platform had offered an anti-viral drug earlier in December 2022. The drug had sold out in just a few hours.
The drug was Azvudin that is an oral medicine developed by Genuine Biotech of China. The country abandoned its zero-COVID policy this month after undergoing through lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing. After the restrictions were suddenly lifted, people started to panic buy medicines for fever which lead to a wide-spread shortage. The shortage was noticed at the pharmacies as well as the online shopping platforms. It is a routine to see long lines outside the clinics while the hospital wards are overflowing with patients in Beijing and across the country.
The medical system in Beijing is severely strained with health professionals travelling to Beijing to assist at medical centres. The city is known for having the best medical resources in the country, but it was the zero-Covid turn had taken down the health facilities and left people helpless and unprepared. Experts have urged that people in the big cities should return to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year due to be celebrated next month.
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