Domestic drug manufacturers will sponsor the first batch of 16,000 doses of Molnupiravir for a pilot programme for patients at home.— Illustrative photo suckhoedoisong.vn

HÀ NỘI — Domestic drug manufacturers will sponsor the first batch of 16,000 doses of Molnupiravir for a pilot programme of controlled treatment of COVID-19 patients at home, which is scheduled to start on Wednesday in HCM City.

The Ministry of Health said the domestic drug manufacturers would provide an additional 100,000 doses of Molnupiravir by September 5.

The total of 116,000 doses of Molnupiravir is equal to 2.32 million 400-mg tablets, according to the ministry.

The first imported batch of Molnupiravir, equal to 300,000 200-mg tablet, arrived in Việt Nam on Monday.

An additional 1.7 million 200-mg tablets will be transported to Việt Nam on Saturday while other batches of Molnupiravir are expected to arrive in early September.

The ministry also said clinical trials of the antiviral drug Molnupiravir in the treatment of COVID-19 patients, which were published in many countries, showed positive results.

Especially, they showed a significant reduction in viral load and cleared the virus in mild and moderate patients after five days of treatment, thereby, reducing the hospitalisation rate and mortality.

The ministry said that while the COVID-19 pandemic had shown complex developments in HCM City and other southern provinces, reducing the overload of hospitals and mortality were the top requirements.

Therefore, the programme would contribute to the reduction, the ministry said.

The ministry has updated its treatment plan based on global case studies and the pandemic situation, which indicates that nearly 80 per cent of patients have few or no symptoms.

Under the programme, COVID-19 patients with mild symptoms will be consulted by medical staff about the programme. After agreeing to participate, the patients will be given a bag of medicine with detailed guidelines for their home-based care.

A detailed instruction document from the health ministry and the city’s Department of Health on self-care, health monitoring, contacting the doctor in charge and medical facilities in case of severe symptoms will be provided.

All patients will be evaluated for the rate of negative SARS-CoV-2 and the rate of the disease progressing to a more severe level after five days.

During the 14-day period, the patient will be monitored for any symptoms of COVID-19 and any side effects of the medicine.

The programme results will be assessed by health experts under a scientific research protocol approved by the National Ethics Committee in Biomedical Research and the health ministry.

The programme has been supported by domestic drug manufacturers, domestic corporations, the Việt Nam Young Doctors Association, task force teams, mobile medical stations in HCM City and other units. — VNS