Gov’t urged to stock up on antivirals

Molnupiravir, considered the first oral antiviral pill for mild and moderate cases of COVID-19, showed a 30-percent reduction in hospitalizations and deaths. (File photo from REUTERS)

MANILA, Philippines — Go Negosyo founder Joey Concepcion said on Tuesday that the country should stock up on antiviral medicine to live successfully with COVID-19.

“Antivirals are a way forward considering how vaccinations are going right now and how we have seen [COVID-19] cases come and go. We need to bring in antiviral medicines to build up our defenses,” Concepcion said.

He added that planning should also begin regarding vaccines that could target both the original strain of the virus and other variants.

“The important thing is that the inventory must be there when we need it, and we must be already laying the groundwork now,” he said.

According to Concepcion, stocks of the two antiviral medicine available through prescription in the Philippines —Molnupiravir and Paxlovid — have been unsteady in recent weeks because of the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

He said the private sector was prepared to step in and enter into another tripartite agreement similar to the one in 2020, which enabled the country to overcome regulatory roadblocks to procuring vaccines.

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