Drugs ok for the golden years

All elderly Covid patients aged 60 or above can be given oral drugs now regardless of their vaccination status, sources said.

It is understood that the Hospital Authority updated its guidelines for doctors in public hospitals, stipulating that they can prescribe the two oral drugs - Paxlovid by Pfizer and Molnupiravir by MSD - to the elderly even if the patients are fully vaccinated. The drugs are currently only given to patients who have yet to complete their vaccination course.

As for patients under 60, the authority said that doctors should assess patients' immunity levels and vaccination status before prescribing the drugs, sources said.

This came as Hong Kong recorded 14,068 cases yesterday, marking the third consecutive day with a daily caseload lower than 20,000. However, the death toll remains high as 179 people died on Sunday.

The Centre for Health Protection's head of communicable diseases Chuang Shuk-kwan said that out of yesterday's cases, 4,523 people tested positive in PCR tests and 9,545 people tested positive in rapid antigen tests.

So far, over 1.04 million have been infected in Hong Kong's fifth wave, Chuang said.

However, no new cases were reported from care homes for the elderly and the handicapped on Sunday, Chuang said, noting that it's a good sign. "Infections at care homes have dropped in the last two or three days," Chuang said. "This is because the situation is becoming more stable and most care homes have already seen outbreaks. Many elderly residents have already been infected while others might have gotten vaccinated."

However, Chuang said that health authorities will have to keep a close eye on care homes for some time in order to remain vigilant against transmission chains.

The authority's chief manager of integrated clinical services Larry Lee Lap-yip said that the 179 people who died on Sunday were aged between 44 and 103 and included 167 aged above 65.

Lee noted that out of those who died, 115 were unvaccinated, 38 had received one jab, 24 had two jabs and only two had received all three doses.

Over 390 cases were found in residential-building lockdowns yesterday, including 122 detected at Choi Yuk House in Sheung Shui's Choi Yuen Estate.

Authorities also detected 87 cases at Fu Sing House in Sham Shui Po's Fu Cheong Estate, 80 at Oi Tat House in Kwun Tong's On Tat Estate, 78 at Shing Hing House in Kwai Chung's Kwai Shing East Estate and 25 at Hang On House in Kwun Tong's Wo Lok Estate. Further, six buildings were locked down yesterday due to positive sewage samples.

Meanwhile, Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee said the authority's Chinese medicine practitioners have provided 3,200 consultations to elderly residents from over 160 care homes, which helped ease the pressure on public hospitals.
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