The government’s stockpile of antiviral drugs, essential for responding to large-scale infectious disease outbreaks like COVID-19 and avian influenza, has fallen significantly short of targets for the second consecutive year. Despite new purchasing costs included in next year’s budget, a substantial amount will expire, leading to an anticipated shortfall of about 1 million doses next year, raising alarms about national health security.
On September 15, Rep. Seo Mi-hwa of the Democratic Party, a member of the National Assembly's Health and Welfare Committee, revealed data from the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) indicating that the actual stockpile of antiviral drugs stood at 9.3 million doses for both 2025 and 2026. This figure is approximately 3.5 million doses and 3.48 million doses short of the KDCA's target stockpile levels of 12.8 million doses for 2025 and 12.78 million doses for 2026, respectively.
The government’s stockpile rate for infectious disease medications has deteriorated sharply in recent years. The stockpile rates were maintained at the target level of 25% for four consecutive years: 25.0% (12.94 million doses) in 2021, 25.0% (12.93 million doses) in 2022, 25.1% (12.89 million doses) in 2023, and 24.8% (12.70 million doses) in 2024. However, the stockpile rate plummeted to 18.2% in 2025 and remained at that level in 2026, significantly below the target. The primary reason for this sharp decline is the large-scale disposal of expired medications. In 2025 alone, 337,500 doses of antiviral drugs were confirmed to have been discarded due to expiration.
The outlook for next year (2027) is also grim. The government has allocated 25.498 billion won in next year’s budget to purchase 3.15 million doses of antiviral drugs, including Tamiflu. However, even if this budget is fully executed, achieving the target stockpile level will be impossible. According to Rep. Seo's office, 1.072 million doses of the currently stockpiled antiviral drugs will expire next year, leading to their total disposal. The net increase from the new purchase (3.15 million) minus the disposal (1.072 million) will only result in an increase of 2.078 million doses, bringing the expected actual stockpile to 11.8 million doses. This figure is about 980,000 doses short of the 2027 target stockpile of 12.78 million doses, representing a stockpile rate of 23.1%.
The KDCA is currently facing challenges in securing the budget for antiviral drug purchases. However, the expiration dates for stockpiled medications are clearly defined from the date of manufacture, allowing for accurate predictions of disposal timing and quantities. Critics argue that the recurring issues of large-scale disposal and purchasing delays stem from a lack of a systematic national stockpile management system.
Rep. Seo stated, "Infectious disease crises like COVID-19 can arise unexpectedly at any time," emphasizing the need for sufficient stockpiling of essential medications to protect public health and safety. She urged the government to develop a 'long-term national stockpile plan' that comprehensively considers necessary quantities, patient numbers, and production timelines to maintain stable target stockpile levels.
Currently, the major antiviral drugs managed by the national stockpile include Tamiflu, Yuhan Enflu, Jofluza, Teraflu, and Relenza.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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