South Korea gets first supply of Pfizer’s COVID-19 pills

By KIM TONG-HYUNG
Associated Press

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — South Korea has received its first supply of Pfizer’s antiviral COVID-19 pills to treat patients with mild or moderate symptoms. Health officials have described the Paxlovid pills as a potentially important tool to suppress hospitalizations and deaths as the country braces for another possible surge in coronavirus infections driven by the contagious omicron variant. South Korea’s initial supply, which arrived Thursday, is enough to support the required five-day treatment courses for 21,000 people. Officials say another batch of pills, enough to provide the required five-day courses for 10,000 people, will arrive by the end of January.