The first batch of Pfizer's COVID-19 antiviral pills will arrive in South Korea on Thursday. 

According to the Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasures Headquarters, 21-thousand courses of the pill, named Paxlovid, will arrive at Incheon International Airport around noon.

The government said another ten-thousand courses will be delivered by the end of this month and the remainder of the agreed upon amount will be brought in gradually. 

The government signed pre-purchase deals for 762-thousand courses of Pfizer's oral drug and 242-thousand courses of Merck's antiviral pill Molnupiravir. 

Health authorities expect the oral drug will slow down the spread of the virus and enable a response to the omicron variant.