National Antiviral Stockpile Falls 3.5 Million Person-Courses Short of Target for Second Consecutive Year

[Financial News] Nationally stockpiled antiviral drugs prepared for infectious disease pandemics such as COVID-19 have fallen substantially short of their target for two consecutive years. The shortfall is expected to approach 1 million person-courses in 2027, prompting calls for urgent measures.
According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), the national stockpile of antiviral drugs fell short of its target by approximately 3.5 million person-courses in both 2025 and 2026. Although the government is pursuing new purchases for 2027, the shortfall is expected to continue because some existing stock is scheduled for disposal.
The KDCA manages a target national stockpile of 12.78 million person-courses of antiviral drugs, equivalent to 25% of the population, to prepare for pandemics such as novel influenza.
Data submitted by the KDCA to Seo Mihwa, a senior member of the Democratic Party of Korea and a member of the Health and Welfare Committee of the National Assembly, showed that actual antiviral holdings amounted to only 9.3 million person-courses in both 2025 and 2026. This was 3.5 million person-courses below the 12.8 million-course target for 2025 and 3.48 million below the 12.78 million-course target for 2026.
The situation is even clearer when measured as a percentage of the population. The stockpile rate remained near its target, declining from 25.0% in 2021 to 24.8% in 2024, but plunged to 18.2% in 2025 and remained at 18.2% in 2026.
The stockpile is also expected to fall short of its target in 2027. The government included 25.498 billion won in its 2027 budget proposal for the purchase of 3.15 million new person-courses of antiviral drugs. However, 1.072 million person-courses from the existing stock are scheduled for disposal because their shelf life will have expired. As a result, the 2027 stockpile is expected to remain approximately 1 million person-courses below target.
The KDCA is struggling to secure funding for antiviral purchases. Because stockpiled medicines have fixed shelf lives, the timing and volume of disposals can be predicted in advance, making systematic national stockpile management necessary, the agency said.
Seo Mihwa said, "Because infectious disease crises such as COVID-19 can occur at any time without warning, stockpiled medicines needed to protect the lives and safety of the public must be secured in sufficient quantities during normal times. The government should establish a mid- to long-term national stockpiling plan that comprehensively considers the quantities needed in the event of an outbreak, the number of patients, and the time required to produce the medicines, and it must maintain the target stockpile at a stable level."
Nationally stockpiled antiviral drugs include Tamiflu, Yuhan N Flu, Zofluza, Teramiflu, and Relenza. 


[email protected] Medical Specialist Reporter Jeong Myeong-jin Reporter