《TAIPEI TIMES》 Older people to be eligible for antivirals after rapid test

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

People aged 65 or older who have tested positive for COVID-19 using a rapid test would be eligible for oral antiviral drugs prescribed by a doctor, the Central Epidemic Command Center （CECC） said yesterday.

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Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung （陳時中）, who heads the center, said that after meetings with local governments and specialists over the weekend, they agreed that the administration of oral antiviral drugs to high-risk groups should be accelerated.

The center proposed that people aged 65 or older, despite not falling under the center’s “three conditions” — being under home quarantine, home isolation or practicing self-disease prevention — who test positive using an at-home rapid test for COVID-19 should also be eligible for oral antiviral drugs prescribed by a doctor, Chen said.

“There were different opinions on whether they should be considered confirmed COVID-19 cases, but we reached a consensus that they should be eligible for the antiviral drugs, after seeing a doctor and receiving a prescription,” he said.

The policy would be implemented as soon as the supplementary measures are decided on by the center and local governments, Chen said.

After a local media outlet yesterday reported that the Executive Yuan and the center had been discussing late into the night on Saturday whether long-term care facility residents who test positive with a rapid test should be eligible for oral antiviral drugs, the CECC yesterday said that the policy had already taken effect on May 5.

After checking with the Executive Yuan, it confirmed that no such meeting was held on Saturday, said Centers for Disease Control （CDC） Deputy Director-General Philip Lo （羅一鈞）, deputy head of the CECC’s medical response division.

Over the past few days, the number of oral antiviral drugs prescribed for COVID-19 has risen, and the center would continue to work on easing the procedures for prescribing them to more people, Chen said.

CECC data showed that 876 courses of Paxlovid and 149 courses of molnupiravir were prescribed on Saturday.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES