[AFP]
[AFP]

Signs of a renewed COVID-19 surge are emerging in China, yet patients still struggle to obtain antiviral treatments at ordinary pharmacies, raising concerns about limited access to care even as infections climb.

Data from China's Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that COVID-19 accounted for 20.3 percent of respiratory virus samples collected from patients with influenza-like symptoms at medical institutions nationwide during the week of July 20 to 26 — the highest share among all respiratory viruses tracked and up 4 percentage points from 16.3 percent the previous week.

Medical professionals in China have warned that infections could continue to rise over the next one to two weeks.

Obtaining treatment, however, remains difficult. The Economic Observer reported that a Beijing office worker who recently contracted COVID-19 visited multiple pharmacies without finding any antiviral medication.

Under current rules, patients in China must obtain a prescription from a hospital or order through an e-commerce platform's own pharmacy to access COVID-19 treatments. Online orders are not delivered immediately, typically taking one to two days — and up to five days in some areas.

The delay is particularly concerning for oral antiviral drugs, which are most effective when taken early in the course of illness. Slow delivery could cause patients to miss the critical treatment window.

Oral COVID-19 treatments have received regulatory approval in China, but sales through general pharmacies remain prohibited in most parts of the country.

During China's "zero-COVID" policy, which remained in force until late 2022, the government restricted sales of fever reducers and cold medicines to prevent infected individuals from self-treating at home. Most of those restrictions were lifted when the policy ended, but the ban on over-the-counter sales of oral COVID-19 antivirals has remained in place.

"COVID-19 treatments initially received conditional approval and have since been granted full authorization, but many regions are still applying the sales management regulations that were in place in 2022," a pharmaceutical industry official said.

As a result, some pharmacies have been directing patients toward influenza treatments instead. Experts stress, however, that flu and COVID-19 antivirals target different viruses and cannot be used interchangeably.

Another pharmaceutical industry official said millions of patients are expected to contract COVID-19 every year even after the disease enters an endemic phase, adding that more than half of them could end up taking medication that does not match their condition.

As COVID-19 increasingly resembles a seasonal respiratory illness with recurring waves, experts say improving healthcare access — ensuring patients can obtain the right treatment at the right time — is just as important as monitoring the spread of infections.


rainbow@heraldcorp.com