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Hong Kong health authorities report few patients receiving oral Covid-19 pills from private family doctors amid recent fall in cases

  • Number of overall patients prescribed molnupiravir and Paxlovid by private health clinics in single-digits, health official says
  • Private practitioner says small prescription figure result of epidemic passing its peak, with more patients seeking help for long-term symptoms of Covid-19

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Covid-19 oral pills Paxlovid and molnupiravir. Photo: Reuters
Less than one-tenth of private family doctors in Hong Kong have obtained oral Covid-19 pills from the government, officials have revealed, with the overall number of patients prescribed the medications by such practitioners in the single-digits.
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The data was publicly revealed on Saturday, a day after Dr Owen Tsang Tak-yin, chairman of the Hospital Authority’s infectious disease task force, said private medical clinics had reported only prescribing molnupiravir and Paxlovid to a small number of patients.

Tsang did not provide the exact figure but said it was in the single-digit range.

However, private practitioners have attributed the low number of prescriptions to the recent decline in coronavirus cases.

“No new Covid-19 cases came for consultation. As we have passed the peak of the epidemic, the chance of seeing Covid-19 patients is also smaller,” said Dr Lam Wing-wo, a private practitioner who runs his own clinic.

Lam, who obtained 15 courses of oral Covid-19 drugs from the government last week, said he had not yet prescribed any of the medications to his patients.

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