S.Korea authorises Novavax COVID-19 vaccine

South Korea authorises Novavax COVID-19 vaccine and preparing to distribute the first of Pfizer’s antiviral pills on Wednesday.

According to the health ministry, “Over 21,000 of Pfizer’s antiviral pills, called Paxlovid, will arrive in South Korea on Thursday, with another 10,000 more expected to arrive by the end of the month.

“The pills, which were authorised for emergency use in December, will begin being used in treatments for more than 1,000 people per day starting on Friday.”

“By priority, oral treatment is planned to begin first for patients aged 65 or older, or patients with reduced immunity at home and residential treatment centres,” a ministry spokesperson said.

Paxlovid was nearly 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations and deaths in patients at high risk of severe illness, according to data from the company’s clinical trial.

Recent lab data suggests the drug retains its effectiveness against Omicron.

South Korea’s food and drug safety ministry, meanwhile, announced it had authorised the Novavax vaccine, which joins the ranks of previously authorised vaccines made by AstraZeneca Inc, Moderna Inc, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen.

Novavax is awaiting approval in Japan, where its vaccine would be manufactured and distributed by Takeda Pharmaceutical.

At least 84.2% of the country’s 52 million population have been fully vaccinated, while 42.5%, have received booster shots, according to health officials.

South Korea added 4,388 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Tuesday, for a total of 674,868 cases and 6,166 deaths since the pandemic began, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) reported.

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