Paracetamol and Ventolin limited to at least one per customer as Australia combats coronavirus hoardingThere is no suggestion country experiencing a drugs shortage – but pharmacies are placing big ordersParacetamol cannot treat coronavirus, NSW chief health officer says, only its symptoms – video
Australians are going to be restricted to purchasing one unit of Ventolin or children’s paracetamol at a time under tough new measures to counter hoarding of medical supplies.
The federal has also announced it'll limit customers to buying one month’s supply of some prescription medicines. it's also instructed pharmacists to put children’s paracetamol formulations behind the counter to make sure they're fairly distributed among customers.
The deputy chief medic , Paul Kelly, urged Australians to prevent hoarding medicine as he announced the measures on Thursday.
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“I will repeat that – please don't buy quite you would like for love or money , whether that’s food and particularly medicines,” he said.
There is no suggestion Australia is experiencing a national medicine shortage, though individual pharmacists have continued to report pressure on stocks.
Kelly said there have been strong systems in situ to make sure the govt was alerted to any such shortages. No such alerts had been received but Kelly urged suppliers to advise authorities if shortages were imminent.
Australian pharmacies are placing large orders with pharmaceutical wholesalers to exchange stock amid significant Covid-19-related demand.
One of three major Australian wholesalers, Symbion, told the Guardian the demand from pharmacies was “significant”.
The company wouldn't give figures to quantify the extent of demand but said there was “sufficient stock round the country” to satisfy it.
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“No pharmacy brand, organisation or order is being prioritised at this point ,” a spokesman said. “From Symbion’s perspective, metropolitan and rural pharmacies are being equally served.”
Reports have continued to emerge of local supply problems at individual pharmacies, particularly in rural areas.
Pharmacists have reported pressure on stocks of over-the-counter goods including Ventolin, painkillers, hand sanitiser, masks and gloves.
In some cases, local pharmacies have risen above any competitive instinct to figure along side competitors, sharing stock and ensuring that at-risk and elderly customers have what they have .
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Last week a minimum of three major drug wholesalers wrote to pharmacists apologising for supply chain challenges, consistent with documents seen by the Medical Republic and shared with Guardian Australia. one among the wholesalers had written that demand for over-the-counter and prescribed drugs was 30% to 40% above the company’s forecasts, which had already been adjusted to account for coronavirus.
Kelly said the new restrictions were the results of consultations with the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
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“We have a really good system of knowing about medicine shortages in Australia and actually it's obligatory all medicine suppliers that they need to tell us if there's a shortage now or orshortly into the longer term ,” he said.
“We haven't had that from any suppliers. It seems local supply shortages have happened especially pharmacies.”
A Pharmacy Guild spokesman, Greg Turnbull, told the Guardian on Wednesday that it had been not conscious of any drug being out of stock.
“But certainly the availability chain is at maximum capacity at the instant ,” he said.
“I’ll offer you an example I heard from one wholesaler. Normally, when the truck leaves the distribution centre … it's heading bent service eight to nine pharmacies. Now it's heading bent service two to 3 because they're ordering such a lot .”
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