Japan Disposes Billions Worth of COVID-19 Pills

(MENAFN) Japan’s Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that it had thrown away nearly 240 billion yen (about $1.6 billion) worth of oral COVID-19 treatments during the financial year concluding in March.

This move came after the expiration of the drugs’ shelf lives, as noted by a news agency.

These antiviral medications — originally acquired to serve approximately 2.5 million individuals — were bought during the peak of the pandemic and distributed at no cost to medical facilities across the nation.

Nevertheless, a large portion of the drugs remained untouched after the government decided in May 2023 to reclassify COVID-19 as a disease similar in status to the common flu.

This policy adjustment transferred the financial responsibility for treatment from the government to individual patients.

Information from the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare indicated that the discarded supply included 1.75 million courses of Pfizer’s nirmatrelvir and 780,000 doses of Merck’s molnupiravir.

In addition, the authorities procured 2 million courses of ensitrelvir, manufactured by Shionogi & Co., though roughly 1.77 million remain unused.

These too are projected to be disposed of once they reach expiration, according to the same report.

By March 2024, it was estimated that over 70 million people in Japan had been infected with COVID-19.

As of the previous August, the nation had recorded approximately 132,000 deaths linked to the virus.

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