Taiwan drugstores almost run out of Panadol due to mass buying

ROC Central News Agency

12/19/2022 06:29 PM

Taipei, Dec. 19 (CNA) There is currently a shortage of the painkiller Panadol in Taiwan due to unusual bulk purchasing and in response the government has contacted drug stores asking them to accelerate supply and meet market demand, Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) head Victor Wang (王必勝) said Monday.

Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in China, people are rushing to stock up on medications used to treat COVID-19, reduce fever and pain and ease the discomfort of cold and flu symptoms, resulting in a shortage of these medicines in many places in Taiwan.

In addition, the ongoing flu epidemics in Europe, the United States and other countries has also boosted demand for such medicines. All of these factors make drug shortages a growing global problem.

Against that backdrop, the CECC recently conducted a market survey which showed several local drug stores had almost run out of Panadol, Wang said at a CECC media briefing.

As a result, the CECC has asked drug stores to replenish supplies and will continue to monitor supply and demand to determine whether active measures should be taken, according to Wang.

Panadol contains acetaminophen and is a widely purchased over-the-counter medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain, Wang said, noting that there are other brands of painkillers that do the same.

Wang said that aside from Panadol, Taiwan has sufficient supplies of other brands of painkillers containing the active ingredient acetaminophen.

He also urged people to buy medicines based on need and not to send them overseas.

(By Chen Chieh-ling and Evelyn Kao)

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