That includes easy access to antiviral therapies that can be used by people who test positive and are at higher risk of hospitalisation, such as the elderly.
She said in the post, which has been removed, that while she had heard that China had imported tens of thousands of boxes of Paxlovid, ordinary residents were not able to access the potentially life-saving medicine. The Paper, a Shanghai-based publication, reported that purchasing agents have sold more than 50,000 boxes of foreign generic antivirals since the government’s first tentative steps towards easing Covid-Zero in November.
When China was still trying to keep out the virus, securing adequate supplies of antivirals was described by top health officials like Liang Wannian as essential before the country would consider reopening. The sudden about-turn on Covid-19 means that the under-vaccinated elderly population that benefit most from such drugs are highly vulnerable.