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“Paxlovid is an investigational elderly in the family if they need it,”
medicine because it is still being the 35-year-old accountant says.
studied and there is limited infor-
mation about the safety and effec- “I learned about Paxlovid in early
tiveness of using Paxlovid to treat November, 2022, before catching “
people with mild-to-moderate COVID a month later in mid-De-
COVID-19.” cember. But the price was too high I will not regret buy-
then, costing around RMB ¥7,000
May Lee*, who lives with her (US $1,010),” she says. ing Paxlovid. It is
10-year-old son and husband in
Guangzhou, also bought 30 tablets In a bid to learn more about how about health, an es-
of Paxlovid. She bought the medi- the drug is being transacted, a Var-
cine from a private clinic without sity reporter posed as a potential sential thing. Money
requiring a prescription in January buyer in late January. The reporter
this year. was offered RMB ¥4,300 (US $620) should be spent on
for 30 tablets of the medicine by a
“I paid RMB ¥3,400 (US $500) for scalper named Sir Yi on WeChat. health,
the drug. It is an amount that I can
accept. My family and I might not “I got the medicine mainly from ”
need to take this medicine but hav- private clinics all around China. I
ing it ready at home is always nice. had sold the drug to more than 50
I can also send it to my parents or customers in the past two months,”
other says the scalper, who claims to be based in Shenzhen.

“The medicine can ease symptoms
of COVID-19 and be used by peo-
ple of all ages without causing any
allergies or side effects,” he says to
the Varsity reporter.

“The price has been stable for a
while and the demand is still high
as there are no substitutes. You
should buy the medicine even if
you have already been infected.
Buying Paxlovid is always a good
idea. Prices might go up again
when there is a further shortage,”
Sir Yi claims.

While many people had resorted
to underground channels to buy
the drug at inflated prices, Pax-
Scalpers sell and promote Paxlovid on WeChat.
lovid is now available on different