The Ministry of Health and Welfare said it will produce an additional 3.5 million syringes and give priority to supplying them to pediatrics, adolescents, and obstetrics. The move aims to prevent any impact on patients as supplies of naphtha, the plastic feedstock, have become unstable due to the Middle East war.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare on the 21st held the fourth meeting on responding to the Middle East war with medical organizations and relevant ministries in Jung-gu, Seoul. Production volumes of syringes, needles, medicine pouches, and syrup bottles are not markedly different from the same period last year, the ministry said.
Syringe output is trending higher than last year. KOREAVACCINE decided to produce an additional 500,000 syringes per week for seven weeks through special extended work. The additional syringes will be supplied through the doctors' association online marketplace "Syringe Hotline." The Ministery of Food and Drug Safety is pursuing a plan to supply some syringes on online malls.
For medicine pouches and syrup bottles, first-quarter production this year is not insufficient, according to the ministry. The ministry, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency, and the Ministry of Climate, Energy and Environment are reviewing a temporary extension of the disposal cycle for general medical waste. This is premised on strengthened management to eliminate infection risks.
The ministry will raise the average National Health Insurance reimbursement rate by 2% for 27,000 separately priced medical supplies. With the recent rise in the exchange rate pushing up prices of medical supplies and raw and subsidiary materials, the decision aims to ease corporations' expense burdens. Minister Jung Eun-kyeong said, "We will ensure that the medical services needed by the public can be provided smoothly."