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Patients are struggling to find prescription and over-the-counter medicines in pharmacies amid a nationwide outbreak of influenza as well as a global drug shortage.
The government unveiled, Friday, a detailed roadmap on lifting the indoor mask mandate, cautiously predicting that it may be scrapped by the end of January at the earliest. Yet medical experts are still debating whether the country is ready to ditch the indoor mask rule, one of the last remaining COVID-19 restrictions in Korea. While some doctors viewed that masks should now be more of a personal choice, others expressed concerns that the premature lifting of the mandate may put vulnerable groups at risk.
Korea should brace for an imminent “twindemic” of seasonal influenza and the coronavirus, according to medical experts, who worry that the possible double whammy of viral infections may strain the country's medical system. While the country had avoided harsh flu seasons in the past two years thanks to COVID-19-induced precautions, an active flu season has been anticipated this fall and winter after almost all social-distancing measures, including the mandatory wearing of face masks outdoors, have been lifted.
Nearly 10 million soon-to-expire COVID-19 vaccine doses are likely to be discarded in Korea amid waning demand, in sharp contrast to the early days of the national vaccination campaign when the country grappled with a scarce supply. According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), as of Monday, there are a total of 14,208,000 stockpiled vaccine doses.
Gov't reduces financial support for COVID-19 patients amid explosive spike in cases