Doctors in Hong Kong suspicious about people chasing COVID antiviral drugs

New Delhi: Hong Kong Medical Association has said it is suspicious how some patients go from doctor to doctor asking for COVID antiviral drugs. According to a report in the South China Morning Post, Doctors noticed ‘strange’ requests after quarantine-free travel with mainland China resumed this month. People have been asking for the two registered antivirals available in the city, Pfizer’s Paxlovid and MSD’s molnupiravir." The Pfizer drug is not easily available on the mainland, which had a spike in infections last month. Molnupiravir only became available there this month. Medicine shortage in China As China reels under a surge of COVID-19 cases, authorities are seemingly facing a new problem – a shortage of medicine as a result of panic buying. For nearly three years, the country maintained some of the toughest pandemic controls in the world, mandating mass testing and locking down cities such as Shanghai for months. Then, with little warning, the government announced a broad easing of restrictions on December 7, seemingly bowing to economic pressure and rising social discontent following widespread protests in late November. “Opening up is great, but it happened too fast and without preparation. People don’t have these common medicines stocked up at home,” said a pharmacist in December working at a public hospital in Beijing who only provided his last name, Zhang, given the political sensitivity of the issue. Read all the Latest News , Trending News ,  Cricket News , Bollywood News , India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .