Ho Chi Minh City proposes to buy Covid-19 treatment drug Molnupiravir, giving it to F0 for free

At the press conference to provide information on the prevention of the Covid-19 epidemic on the afternoon of March 14, Ms. Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, Chief of the Office of the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City, confirmed that the Department had just proposed to the City People’s Committee about the purchase of goods. drug Molnupiravirprovided free of charge to patients.

According to Mai, Covid-19 is a group A infectious disease, and patients will be examined and treated for free. Therefore, treatment drugs will also be provided free of charge as in the past time.

It is expected that antiviral drugs will continue to be distributed free of charge to F0 in Ho Chi Minh City.

With the drug Molnupiravir, the Ministry of Health has conducted clinical trials with good results. The world also recognizes the effectiveness of this drug. On March 14, the Department of Health of Ho Chi Minh City issued a document requesting the policy of the City People’s Committee to be allowed to buy Molnupiravir to supply people.

“The drug will be provided free of charge to F0s isolated at home, eligible for use under the guidance of the Ministry of Health, through medical stations and mobile stations. The Department of Health is currently waiting for the direction of the City People’s Committee,” said Ms. Mai.

In Ho Chi Minh City, there are 102,224 F0 monitoring at home, the demand for Molnupiravir is increasing. However, the number of free medicines provided by the Ministry of Health is currently running out.

The source of the antiviral drug Molnupiravir was previously distributed under the Pilot Program for the Controlled Treatment of Covid-19 Cases of the Ministry of Health. Besides, drugs made in Vietnam were sold at drug stores.

Also at the press conference, the Chief of Office of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that the number of children infected with Covid-19 is increasing because students return to school directly.

Specifically, the week from February 7-13, Ho Chi Minh City had 449 students infected with Covid-19; the week from February 14-21 has 6,799 cases; the week from February 22-28 has 18,522 cases; In the last week, from March 1-7, the city had 34,202 cases of students infected.

In particular, the number of primary school students infected with Covid-19 was higher than other groups of students. The Department of Health and the Department of Education and Training have a plan to coordinate with schools to handle the respective scenarios.

Mai added that the number of children infected with Covid-19 with severe progress in recent times is not much, but hospitals are ready to increase the number of beds used to treat sick children.

Linh Giao