Tamiflu demand increased by 7 times
As noted on 11.2, many retail pharmacies in Ho Chi Minh City do not sell Tamiflu 75mg medicine. Some places in the newspaper are not available, people want to buy must book 1-2 days in advance.
At a pharmacy on Nguyen Huy Luong Street (Binh Thanh District), the staff here said that the store did not import Tamiflu drugs for sale.
“This is a prescription medicine, customers need to order in advance, the store will go home. Guests should seek medical attention to determine what the flu they have or use the test kit, if the normal flu can use Tiffy, Epofluden ... with cheaper prices ” - the staff here consulted.
At a pharmacy on Tan Hoa Street (District 6), the employee announced that he did not sell Tamiflu medicine. At Long Chau Pharmacy on Tan Hoa Dong Street (District 6), the drug is temporarily out of stock, priced at about 52,000 VND/tablet.
Currently, on the Vietnamese market, the active ingredient OSeltamivir 75mg has 2 main herbs: Tamiflu 75mg Roche and Flustad 75mg Stella. Both are in a state of scarcity.
Talking to Lao Dong newspaper, Mr. Chau Thanh Tu - Pharmacist of the Council of Pharmacy, pharmacy system and FPT Long Chau vaccination center, said that the demand of customers information about Tamiflu drugs this phase increased by 7 times compared to weekdays. The selling price of Tamiflu is still stable compared to before 520,000 VND/box of 10 tablets.
“The supply is still missing compared to the needs of customers. However, we still work with producers and distributors to have more supply in time to serve people.
Therefore, people should not buy large quantities, affecting the treatment opportunities of other patients. We are proactive and committed to stabilizing drug prices, giving people good drugs at reasonable prices ” - Mr. Chau Thanh Tu said.
At the same time, Mr. Tu recommends that some people abuse Molnupiravir without consulting or prescribing doctors easily leading to the wrong time of the disease, not the right subjects are allowed to use.
Arbitrarily using the drug is very dangerous
Dr. Truong Huu Khanh - Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Infection Association said that Tamiflu is a drug capable of eliminating the flu virus. However, the drug has side effects, so the people's arbitrary use of drugs are very dangerous. The arbitrary use of Tamiflu may cause drug resistance.
When resistant to Tamiflu, it is difficult to find other antiviral drugs. Tamiflu should be used early, in case of signs such as cough, runny nose ... 2-3 days to use the drug will not be effective or very effective. In particular, Tamiflu also has side effects on nerves, very dangerous.
Tamiflu drugs must be used as directed by the doctor. The voluntary purchase may be risky such as fake drugs, non -quality drugs, wrong use of the dosage and improperly prescribed.
"With these factors, I find it not necessary to search for Tamiflu medicine. It is important now that it is to keep good resistance, detect the disease early and visit a specialist" - Dr. Khanh emphasized.
According to the Drug Administration of Vietnam, the Ministry of Health, the drugs containing the active ingredient OSeltamivir (influenza treatment) are still guaranteed for supply. For Tamiflu drugs, according to information from the imported company, currently the number of drugs is more than 10,000 boxes, the company has just sold to the company distributing more than 30,000 boxes. In the near future, the company will import about 50,000 boxes for demand.
