As Covid-19 infections soar across China, a shortage of antiviral medicines like Pfizer Inc.’s Paxlovid appears to be spurring people to turn to the black market.
One user on the popular Twitter-like Weibo platform said on Sunday that she was buying generic Paxlovid made in Bangladesh because she had an elderly relative and couldn’t get hold of any in China. She said in the post, which has been removed, that while she’d heard China had imported tens of thousands of boxes of Paxlovid, ordinary residents weren’t able to access the potentially life-saving medicine.
Even going by the book can come at a hefty price, depending on where someone seeks treatment. Guangzhou Daily reported that a staff member at the private Guangzhou United Family Hospital said Paxlovid costs about 2,300 yuan, but patients need a raft of tests in order to determine their suitability for the medication.
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 means that the under-vaccinated elderly population that benefit most from such drugs are highly vulnerable.
Pfizer said in a statement that it’s collaborating with all stakeholders to secure an adequate supply of Paxlovid in China and remains committed to fulfilling the treatment needs of patients in the country and around the world. It said it’s committed to bringing medicines and therapies including Paxlovid that will benefit Chinese patients as soon as possible.
Merck & Co.’s molnupiravir isn’t approved, though in September it said it struck a deal with a state-owned drugmaker to import and market the pill.As part of efforts to provide generic low-cost antivirals to developing countries, the United Nations-backed Medicines Patent Pool program in March authorized five Chinese companies to make Paxlovid, but exclusively for export. The group includes Huahai, which struck a separate deal with Pfizer to make Paxlovid for China’s domestic market.