Patients in China are scrambling to find a leading antiviral medication for the coronavirus after the country pivoted from its zero-COVID policies without having stocked up on a key treatment the U.S. and other Western nations enjoy.
The Pfizer antiviral Paxlovid is covered by state insurance and should cost the equivalent of $29, but the drug is hard to access and some patients have reported paying huge markups, according to Reuters, which documented the experiences of patients and families.
One man in Hainan province said he paid nearly $3,000 for two boxes of Paxlovid, which is a combination of two drugs and reduced the risk of hospitalization by 90% in clinical trials.