▲ Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum speaks at a COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul on Dec. 24, 2021. (Yonhap)

PM-coronavirus

S. Korea in final stage of signing contract for Pfizer's oral COVID-19 pill: PM

SEOUL, Dec. 24 (Yonhap) -- South Korea is in the final stage of signing a contract with U.S. drug giant Pfizer Inc. to get its oral drug for COVID-19, Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum said Friday.

"The government has been discussing a purchasing deal with Pfizer for a volume that is much more than our previously announced plan of 70,000 people," Kim said during a COVID-19 response meeting in Seoul.

"We will announce the deal in detail once we confirm the contract and our drug safety agency approves emergency use of the drug," Kim said.

Kim's remarks came after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration granted an emergency use authorization of Pfizer's COVID-19 pill known as Paxlovid.

The government on Thursday said it is looking to purchase Paxlovid for 162,000 people from Pfizer.

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety's emergency authorization of Paxlovid is expected to come out next week.

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