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The antiviral Covid medicine Paxlovid has reportedly become a symbol of prestige for China's rich elite, as the country faces a shortage of fever medicines amid surging Covid-19 cases, according to the Financial Times (FT).

Meanwhile, some ordinary Chinese people have turned to other countries to obtain the medicine.

Soaring demand for Covid medication

Paxlovid is an oral antiviral pill developed by Pfizer that can be consumed by high-risk patients at home.

The medicine was approved by China in February this year and can be procured via hospitals, reported Reuters.

According to the Financial Times, it is currently the only foreign Covid medication that can be used in China.

But there have been reports of a nationwide shortage of fever medicines, test kits and Covid medication since China's reported surging Covid cases, after it moved away from its zero-Covid policy earlier this month.

Regional Chinese governments have to place a strict purchasing limit on fever-relieving medicines to ration supplies as such medicines become nearly impossible to obtain, according to CNN.

Unexpected symbol of prestige

Reuters noted that a Chinese online healthcare platform was selling the medication for RMB2,980 (S$576) per box before the product sold out in about half an hour.

Meanwhile, FT reported that a number of high-end private hospitals are selling a box of Paxlovid for as much as RMB8,300 (S$1600).

The medicine is also selling out fast, as an official at Oasis International Hospital in Beijing reported that its inventory of 300 Paxlovid boxes sold out within 24 hours.

Unfortunately, authorities have been slow in procuring Paxlovid, causing a soaring demand for the medicine while pushing its price up.

FT said that China imported an initial batch of 21,200 Paxlovid boxes in March 2022, as Shanghai was suffering an outbreak, and shipments since then have been sporadic.

A government adviser in Beijing quoted by FT said only a few hundred thousand boxes have been imported so far, below demand, and the authorities fear that importing more Paxlovid would disadvantage local Chinese makers of medicines.

Akin to "business gifts"

The difficulty of obtaining Paxlovid, coupled with its high price, has turned the medicine into an unexpected symbol of prestige.

FT reported that Chinese officials and business owners are keeping a stockpile of the Paxlovid they purchased at a high price, with an official at one of the hospitals in Beijing admitting that the pills ended up being purchased by healthy people.

Said official compared Paxlovid to Moutai, a premium Chinese liquor band that is often given as business gifts.

A Beijing businessman FT spoke to said he received two boxes of Paxlovid as a gift from a friend, who obtained it from a hospital department catering to "senior officials".

“Access to Paxlovid shouldn’t be determined by people’s power or wealth,” Jin Dongyan, a virologist at the University of Hong Kong, said to FT. “This is a life-saving drug and should be made available to anyone who needs it.”

Purchasing Paxlovid made in India and Bangladesh

Many ordinary Chinese citizens are seeking alternative ways to get Paxlovid as the medicines become increasingly difficult to obtain, Bloomberg reported.

A Weibo user said in a post that had since been deleted that she was buying Paxlovid made in Bangladesh, as she could not get a hold of any in China, despite hearing that the country had imported tens of thousands of boxes of the medicine.

Another Weibo user shared an advertisement of Paxlovid made in India which can be shipped on the day of payment and received within two-to-three weeks.

Meanwhile, the shortage of Covid medication in China prompted many Chinese nationals residing in Singapore to send medicines back home for their families, encouraging FairPrice to impose a purchase limit on Panadol and all Nurofen products.

Paxlovid is available in Singapore to treat Covid-19 patients, with strict guidelines over who receives the medication.

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