Patients behaving strangely: Hong Kong doctors report people chasing Covid antivirals, collecting for many ‘family members’
- Medical Association says it is suspicious how some patients go from doctor to doctor asking for drugs
- Doctors noticed ‘strange’ requests after quarantine-free travel with mainland China resumed this month
Some people in Hong Kong have been acting suspiciously to get their hands on Covid-19 antiviral drugs, the Post has learned, with one person going to six doctors in a single day asking for the same medicine.
The Hong Kong Medical Association confirmed it received “a handful” of reports from private doctors earlier this month about people asking for the two registered antivirals available in the city, Pfizer’s Paxlovid and MSD’s molnupiravir.
“It’s really strange. There is clearly a problem when someone goes to six different doctors on the same day for the same medication, Paxlovid,” said the association’s vice-president Dr Victor Yeung Hip-wo.
The association also revealed that some individuals asked doctors for medicines on behalf of several others by claiming that they all lived in the same household, even though they had different surnames.
Doctors noticed the suspicious behaviour soon after Hong Kong resumed quarantine-free travel with mainland China on January 8.
The Pfizer drug is not easily available on the mainland, which had a spike in infections last month. Molnupiravir only became available there this month.
Hong Kong residents can obtain both antivirals free of charge at public hospitals, clinics and specific private practices after consulting a doctor. Non-local residents can only get the medicines at private hospitals or clinics, paying more than HK$6,000 (US$766) for each course of treatment.
