The fund for buying Paxlovid is part of an B8.4 billion pandemic budget, as requested by the Public Health Ministry. The majority of the fund, about B7.7bn, will be disbursed to frontline medical and health workers attached to the public health secretariat office, reports the Bangkok Post.
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.
25,164 new cases, 80 deaths
Meanwhile, there were 80 more COVID-19 related fatalities and 25,164 confirmed new cases during the previous 24 hours, the Public Health Ministry announced today.
This compared with the 83 coronavirus-related fatalities and 21,382 confirmed new cases reported yesterday morning.
The figures did not include 26,812 positive results from antigen tests over the past 24 hours. This would raise the total to 51,976.
The latest 80 fatalities were between the ages of two months and 95 years and included one foreigner, a Vietnamese.
Bangkok had 12 new deaths and there were 10 in adjacent provinces - in Pathum Thani (5), Samut Sakhon (2), Samut Prakan (2) and Nakhon Pathom (1).
Other central plain provinces further from the capital recorded 22 deaths - three each in Chon Buri and Lop Buri, two each in Nakhon Sawan, Saraburi, Ratchaburi, Prachin Buri and Sa Kaeo and one each in Nakhon Nayok, Trat, Chai Nat, Sing Buri, Suphan Buri and Ang Thong.
The Northeast had 11 fatalities - two each in Khon Kaen, Maha Sarakham and Nong Khai and one each in Surin, Buri Ram, Nong Bua Lam Phu, Udon Thani and Kalasin.
The South reported 16 deaths - four in Yala, three in Surat Thani, two each in Ranong and Phuket and one each in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Trang, Songkhla, Pattani and Narathiwat.
The North saw nine more coronavirus-related fatalities - three each in Phetchabun and Chiang Mai, two in Phichit and one in Sukhothai.
There were 25,073 new cases in the general population, 43 among prison inmates and 48 imported cases.
Of the new cases in the general population, 24,934 were confirmed at hospitals and 139 via mass testing.
Bangkok had the most new cases at 3,378, followed by 1,434 in Chon Buri, 1,188 in Nakhon Si Thammarat, 869 in Samut Prakan, 732 in Samut Sakhon, 700 in Songkhla, 646 in Nonthaburi, 605 in Chachoengsao, 575 in Ratchaburi and 547 in Buri Ram.
The 48 imported cases came from 18 countries and included 17 from Turkey, four each from Singapore and Germany, three each from the United Kingdom and Malaysia and two each from Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan and Australia.
Yesterday 237,128 people received COVID-19 treatment (up from 236,814 the previous day) – 63,396 at hospitals (up from 62,278), including 1,496 seriously ill patients with lung inflammation (up from 1,484) and 562 dependent on ventilators (up from 532).
The 24-hour period also saw 24,770 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals after recovering from the coronavirus.
Since the pandemic started in early 2020, there have been 3,423,956 COVID-19 cases, including 1,200,521 this year, with 3,162,331 complete recoveries to date.
The death toll stood at 24,497 since the beginning of the pandemic, including 2,799 so far this year.
Global COVID-19 cases rose by 1.68 million in 24 hours to 474.67mn. The worldwide death toll went up by 4,965 to 6.12mn.
Over the past seven days, South Korea had the most cases of 2.71mn, followed by Germany with 1.57mn cases, Vietnam with 1.14mn cases and France with 692,501 cases.