As the consumption of respiratory medications, including cold medicines, spiked in the first half due to the spread of the Omicron variant, some industry officials said the government should exclude respiratory drugs from the price-volume agreement (PVA).However, the government said it would keep re
The ongoing Covid-19 resurgence will likely decline this week or next, but the number of severe cases and deaths could continue to increase for two to three more weeks, officials said Tuesday."As the pace of the recent epidemic slows, there is a chance that it will turn into a downtrend this or next
Korea needs to change the paradigm of vaccine development radically to shorten the development time under a global pandemic scenario, a government report said.The Korea Health Industry Development Institute released a report on the nation’s clinical trial strategy for vaccine development to respond
Murad Jacob "Jack" Kevorkian, or “Dr. Death,” caused great controversy in the U.S. in the 1990s by championing terminal patients’ right to die by physician-assisted suicide – and assisting at least 130 patients to that end.In conclusion, Koreans are unlikely to see a local version of Dr. Death.An op
The ongoing resurge of Covid-19 will peak this week and turn downward, but Korea may face another “big wave” in October and November, a top quarantine advisor to the government said on Monday.Jung Ki-suck, head of the National Advisory Committee on Infectious Disease Crisis Response, predicted so at
Korea's new virus cases fell below 140,000 on Friday, but daily Covid-19 deaths reached the highest figure in more than three months amid the lingering resurgence driven by a highly contagious Omicron subvariant, BA.5.The country added 138,812 new Covid-19 infections, including 465 cases from abroad
The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said it would put off enhancing insulin delivery rules by six months because there was insufficient insulin to go around.On Thursday, the MFDS said it would extend the “guidance period” for insulin products by six months until Jan. 17, 2023, before applying reinf
Amid the rising reinfections of Covid-19, the quarantine authorities on Thursday recommended a booster shot to people who have previously tested positive for the virus.The Corona 19 Vaccination Response Promotion Team has changed the vaccination regulation to recommend a booster shot for high-risk g
The number of deaths from Covid-19 among children aged 18 or younger reached 44 as of Thursday, the government said Thursday.On Thursday, the Central Disease Control Headquarters (CDCH) released the analysis on Covid-19 deaths among children and adolescents aged 18 or younger.The nation reported the
Cold medicines, including antipyretics and anti-inflammatory analgesics, are going extremely short due to the recent spike in Covid-19 cases in Korea.However, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety is refraining from intervening and letting drugmakers and distributors handle the supply shortage themse
As the Covid-19 summer resurge continues, the number of daily new cases surged above 180,000 on Wednesday, nearing the peak estimate of the re-infestation expected by the quarantine authorities.On Wednesday, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) confirmed 180,803 new virus cases rai
Korea had the highest number of new virus cases per 1 million people worldwide last week, a global Covid-19 statistic tracking site said Sunday.According to Our World in Data, an international statistics site, as of last week, Korea had 16,452 new Covid-19 cases per 1 million people, recording the h
The U.K. became the first country to authorize the use of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine, which targets two different Covid-19 variants.On Monday, the U.K.’s Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) approved Moderna’s Covid-19 booster vaccine for adults. The bivalent mRNA vaccine targets
The government approved Novavax’s Covid-19 vaccine, manufactured by SK Bioscience, for adolescents aged 12 or older.On Friday, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety allowed adolescents aged 12 or more to receive Novavax’s Nuvaxovid Prefilled Syringe, lowering the eligible age from 18 or more.The vacc
The surge of Covid-19 infections turned somewhat downward, but the continuous increase in severely ill patients is increasing burdens on the nation’s healthcare system, officials said.According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), new virus cases fell for the second straight da
Long-term care insurance reserves will dry out in 2026 and create a deficit of 76.7 trillion won ($58.9 billion) in 2070, a lawmaker said Friday, calling for the government to expand its financial support.Rep. Lee Jong-sung of the ruling People Power Party made a claim based on the long-term analysi
Korea’s new Covid-19 cases fell Thursday after reaching a four-month record high the previous day. Still, new deaths and severe cases climbed to a three-month high amid the spread of highly contagious Omicron subvariants.The country added 137,241 new Covid-19 infections, bringing the total caseload
International and Korean health experts will gather in Seoul this month to find ways to enhance the quality of data-driven healthcare, the health insurance review agency said.The Health Insurance Review and Assessment Service (HIRA) said it would host the “2022 International Symposium” to discuss ho
Amgen’s acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) treatment Blincyto (ingredient: blinatumomab) passed the reimbursement review about two years after expanding indication to treat minimal residual disease (MRD) in patients with B-cell precursor ALL.In contrast, Amgen’s Xgeva (desonumab), which prevents ske
Korea’s new virus cases exceeded 150,000 for the first time in four months on Wednesday, accompanied by sharp increases in severe cases and Covid-19 deaths, officials said.The country added 151,792 new Covid-19 infections, the highest since April 13, when it reported 195,387 cases, bringing the tota