South Korea to deploy Pfizer COVID-19 pills as Omicron wave looms

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

SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea will begin treating coronavirus patients with Pfizer's antiviral pills on Friday, health officials said, as concern mounts over the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

At least 21,000 of the pills, called Paxlovid, arrived on Thursday to be distributed to some 280 pharmacies and 90 residential treatment centres, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said.