Thailand Ministry of Health reports 24,996 new COVID-19 cases and an additional 84 deaths since yesterday. The ministry also announced an additional 18,801 patients recovered from the COVID-19 virus.
The Department of Disease Control says that favipiravir is highly effective against COVID-19. It is also now available for bulk purchase and the treatment will cost about 800 baht.
Siriraj Hospital’s Faculty of Medicine has observed its efficacy for the past two years. When Thailand was experiencing COVID waves, the hospital observed patients who have taken the medicine. Director-general of the DDC, Dr. Opas Karnkawinpong said that its value should not be disregarded.
Secretary-general of the Association for the Protection of the Thai Constitution, Srisuwan Janya, criticized the use of the pill. He petitioned the Administrative Court over the use of the pill as the main treatment for COVID-19. The petition was for Public Health Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and some other executives.
By August-September, the ministry is set to buy 254 million favipiravir pills and another 300 million by October-December. The total cost will be around 6 million baht. The manufacturer of favipiravir has been warned not to market that it’s the most effective against omicron.
Deputy director-general of the Department of Medical Services, Dr. Manus Potaporn said that a systematic review was conducted. The review process includes a formal guideline on the use of favipiravir pills. Other medicines for COVID like remdesivir, molnupiravir and paxlovid has been studied through the same process. He also added that each of them has an advantage and a disadvantage.
He also said that “Molnupiravir and paxlovid are both new drugs which … cost up to 10,000 baht per treatment course.”
Favipiravir has also been studied by many laboratories and hospitals across the globe. Thailand is not the only country that uses it as the main treatment.