The cabinet yesterday approved a 500-million-baht budget to purchase the Covid-19 antiviral medicine Paxlovid, said deputy government spokeswoman Traisuree Taisaranakul.
The fund for buying Paxlovid is part of an 8.4-billion-baht pandemic budget, as requested by the Public Health Ministry. The majority of the fund, about 7.7 billion baht, will be disbursed to frontline medical and health workers attached to the public health secretariat office.
The fund earmarked for obtaining Paxlovid, a nirmatrelvir/ritonavir combination developed by Pfizer, will help in combating the pandemic, according to the deputy spokeswoman.
The Public Health Ministry has resorted to various medications for curing Covid-19 sufferers with mild conditions such as green chiretta (fah talai jone), favipiravir, molnupiravir and remdesivir.