First Paxlovid prescriptions prove successful overall

Social Affairs

Published: 18 Jan. 2022, 17:56

First Paxlovid prescriptions prove successful overall

Boxes of Paxlovid, Pfizer’s oral treatment for Covid-19 [NEWS1]

Korea’s first recipient of oral Covid-19 pill Paxlovid said his symptoms went away in less than two days.

The first Covid-19 patient to be prescribed the Covid-19 pill by Pfizer is a 74-year-old man surnamed Choi who lives in Dong District, Daejeon.

Choi, who is receiving treatment at home, took the first Paxlovid tablets at 8 p.m. on Jan. 14 — the first day the pills were available to use across the country for virus patients aged 65 and older and those with a weak immune system. At the time, he experienced symptoms of fatigue, cough, phlegm, and occasional chest pain.

In a phone interview with the JoongAng Ilbo on Monday, Choi said, "I started to feel better from the afternoon on Jan. 16, less than two days after taking the medicine, and all symptoms disappeared [on Jan. 17],” adding, “I was back to how I was before I was infected with Covid-19.”

Being the first patient to receive a new pill that no one in the country had ever taken, Choi confessed he was worried about side effects.

“I would have prepared in some way on my own if there had been any known cases of side effects in domestic patients, but since I was the first one, I had a lot of concerns,” Choi said.

“I saw news that patients in other countries had side effects such as diarrhea, nausea and loss of appetite after taking Paxlovid, but I didn’t have any abnormal symptoms after taking it," Choi explained. "I heard there have been cases where peoples' condition suddenly deteriorates while receiving at-home Covid-19 care, but I’m relieved as I feel [the pills] stopped from that happening.”

Choi has already gotten his booster shot.

He received the AstraZeneca vaccine for his first and second shots, and was inoculated with Pfizer as his booster on Dec. 4.

But when he felt fatigued on Jan. 12 and went to get tested for Covid-19 at a screening clinic, he was notified the next morning that he was positive. He contracted the Delta variant, not the Omicron variant that is quickly spreading throughout the country. Choi decided to get treated at home as his symptoms were not too severe.

A diabetic of more than 10 years with a surgery record for prostatic cancer, Choi is considered to be at high risk for Covid-19.

“I prescribed Paxlovid because the patient was in a high-risk group and needed early treatment, and I think it was effective in preventing the symptoms from progressing into a severe illness,” Dr. Lee Seung-lim, head of Daejeon Hankook Hospital who treated Choi, said.

“Without Paxlovid, Choi would have had to come to our hospital's outpatient treatment center to be examined, take a chest X-ray, and be treated with the Covid-19 antibody treatment Regkirona, but we pre-emptively administered Paxlovid upon its arrival,” Lee said.

Paxlovid was prescribed by Lee and was delivered to Choi's house from a designated pharmacy in Daejeon. A nurse at Daejeon Hankook Hospital explained the method and precautions to Choi through a video call.

Korea has prescribed Paxlovid to a total of 39 people — including 31 patients receiving at-home care and eight people being treated at residential treatment centers — from Jan. 14 through 16.

Health authorities said no side effects had yet been reported, and the majority had shown improvement after taking the pills.

The Central Disease Control Headquarters will disclose the progress of the Paxlovid prescriptions in the country on Friday. In addition, it is set to begin a detailed analysis of Paxlovid and other oral Covid pills within next month with domestic medical staff.

BY SHIN SUNG-SIK, SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]