Shanghai disneyland, Theme park in Shanghai, China

Beijing, Dec 26 Beijing will begin distributing Pfizers Covid 19 drug Paxlovid to the citys community health centres in the coming days, state media reported on Monday.The report comes as the city grapples with an unprecedented wave of infections which have severely strained its hospitals and emptied pharmacy shelves, CNN reported.The state-run China News Service reported Monday that after receiving training, community doctors will administer the medicine to Covid-19 patients and give instructions on how to use them, CNN reported."We have received the notice from officials, but it is not clear when the drugs will arrive," it cited a worker at a local community health centre in Beijing's Xicheng district as saying.Paxlovid remains the only foreign medicine to treat Covid that has been approved by China's regulator for nationwide use, but access is extremely difficult to come by. When a Chinese healthcare platform offered the antiviral drug earlier this month, it sold out within hours, CNN reported.Azvudine, an oral medicine developed by China's Genuine Biotech, has also been approved.After nearly three years of lockdowns, quarantines and mass testing, China abruptly abandoned its zero-Covid policy this month following nationwide protests over its heavy economic and social toll.The abrupt change in policy has sparked panic buying of fever and cold medicines, leading to widespread shortages, both at pharmacies and on online shopping platforms. Long lines have become routine outside fever clinics and hospital wards overflowing with patients in the capital Beijing and elsewhere in the country, CNN reported.On Monday, Chinese state media CCTV quoted President Xi Jinping as saying the country needed a more targeted health strategy to protect people's lives as the Covid situation in China changes."Xi Jinping emphasised that our country is currently facing a new Covid outbreak situation and new responsibilities, we need to conduct our patriotic health movement in a more targeted manner," the CCTV report said.It was one of the first public statements made by Xi about China's Covid situation since the government's decision to ease its strict restrictions, CNN reported.Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Shanghai DisneylandFOLLOW

Shanghai disneyland, Latest News

Kerala BJP Chief K Surendran on Tuesday demanded a probe into the allegations of corruption against Left Democratic Front ... ...

Santosh Ghimire New Delhi, Dec 27: A day after Maoist party chief Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda was appointed ... ...

The Chinese economy grew by 3.2 per cent in 2022, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research ... ...

Taipei, Dec 27 As the year closes and 2023 begins, China is entering uncharted territory, the Guardian reported. ... ...

New Delhi, Dec 27 Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday lambasted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for his remark ... ...

New Delhi, Dec 27 Like most areas of life, the travel and tourism sector is undergoing extensive change ... ...

Hong Kong, Dec 27 China could reduce the number of deaths to less than 200,000 if it implements ... ...

Beijing, Dec 26 Beijing will begin distributing Pfizers Covid 19 drug Paxlovid to the citys community health centres ... ...