South Korea to Deploy Pfizer COVID-19 Pills; Authorizes Novavax Vaccine

A worker unloads a cargo containing Pfizer's antiviral pill, Paxlovid, as the first batch arrive in the country for the treatment of COVID-19, at a cargo terminal of the Incheon International Airport, in Seoul, South Korea, on Jan. 13, 2022. Jung Yeon-je /Pool via Reuters

SEOUL—South Korea authorized the use of Novavax Inc.’s vaccine on Wednesday and will begin treating coronavirus patients with Pfizer’s antiviral pills on Friday.

Some 630,000 of Pfizer’s Paxlovid pills, enough for 21,000 people, arrived on Thursday to be distributed to 280 pharmacies and 90 residential treatment centers, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.