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Medicine Crisis Is Hitting The World

Medicine Crisis Is Hitting The World

Medicine is becoming scarce in some countries. This is due to the flu and fever season that has begun to hit various parts of the earth. Some types of medicines have become rare.

Medicine shortages happen in the United States. Medicines such as Tylenol for children have become scarce due to the flu season as well as other respiratory diseases.

Not only medicine, doctors and other experts say a shortage of infant formula has also hit the country.

“More kids are getting sick this year than we’ve seen in recent years,” said Shannon Dillon, a pediatrician at Riley Children’s Health in Indianapolis.

Meanwhile, the scarcity of medicines also dragged a European country, Ireland. This comes as the cold season rolls in and health systems are contending with increasing Strep A infections and RSV respiratory disease.

The Irish Health Products Regulatory Authority (HPRA) said that 187 medicines used by patients had run out of stock. These include 11 on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) classified ‘critical medicines’ list.

Of these, 40% have only one supplier. That meant pharmacists had no way of finding alternatives for patients.

“Medicines that are currently experiencing shortages are used in a wide range of healthcare areas, including infections, pain relief, cancer treatment, seizures, mental health, blood pressure, diabetes, and hormone replacement therapy,” HPRA said in a report by the Irish Times.

“Amoxicillin and penicillin, which are currently in high demand as winter infections increase, are included on the World Health Organization’s list of critical medicines currently experiencing supply problems. Another drug on the WHO’s critical medicines list is the widely used chemotherapy drug Vinorelbine.”

The managing director of the pharmaceutical company Azure Pharmaceuticals, Sandra Gannon, said that this situation made Ireland have a much worse medicine stock compared to other European countries. He added that this was due to the government’s move to reduce medicine prices in the country.

Furthermore, medicines have also become scarce in Taiwan after citizens flocked to buy them to sell to China, which is also experiencing a shortage of medicines. This prompted the government to ask and urge citizens to buy as wisely as possible.

Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center, Victor Wang, said there was already a shortage of Panadol, the brand name of the painkiller and antipyretic medicine acetaminophen. A recent survey also found that some pharmacies in Taiwan were running out of Panadol.

“There are large purchases of Panadol here, and there is almost nothing left on the shelves, or very little,” Wang said at a press conference in Taipei, quoted by Radio Free Asia, Tuesday (20/12/2022).

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