Fact-checked by: Zarah Cañeso
Red Bullets:
Claim: Netizens report that there is a shortage of paracetamol and flu medicines
Rating: Partly False (Misleading)
The truth: Branded medicines are running out, but are only temporarily out of stock. Citizens are encouraged to buy generic medicines as well as to avoid panic buying.
Why fact-check: Many citizens have been experiencing flu-like symptoms. There is also a spike in COVID-19 cases in recent days, along with the onset of the Omicron variant.
Red Totality:
Numerous posts have been circulating on social media sites about pharmacies running out of flu medicines and paracetamol tablets.
Due to a surge of COVID-19 cases within the country, along with many people catching flu-like symptoms in recent days, citizens are lining up at pharmacies to buy medicines such as paracetamol, which led to an apparent shortage of medicine stocks.
However, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) clarified that there is no shortage in the supply of paracetamol. The demand only increased exponentially than the normal, thus, pharmacies easily ran out of stocks.
In Duterte’s late night address to the nation on Jan. 6, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez addressed the lack of paracetamol and other medicines. In his statement, he explained that only specific brands of medicines were running out, such as Biogesic and Decolgen from Unilab. DTI has also received reports about upcoming deliveries this week.
Lopez emphasized that there is enough supply of medicines from other brands, as well as generic ones. He then requested drugstores to limit the quantity of individual purchases and take measures to prevent panic buying.
Pharmacist Arshie Larga, who works at his family-owned drug store in Marinduque and is popular on social media due to his informative Tiktok videos about medicine-related matters, stated that they are also running out of specific brands of paracetamol but still have plentiful stock of generic ones.
On his Twitter account, he reminded the public to patronize generic drugs as they are good alternatives to branded medicines.
DTI also consulted the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (PHAP), who reassured that there is plenty of supply of paracetamol in different dosage forms and strengths, combination products and various brands, as well as analgesics in their inventory.
Restocking of medicines started on Jan. 5 in Watsons, followed by Mercury and South Star Drugstore the following day.
References:
Facebook Live, President Duterte addresses the nation, Philippine Star, January 6, 2022
Facebook post from Roselle S. Tupas
Tweet from Arshie Larga, January 4, 2022
Tweet from @mOaRmy_engene, January 6, 2022
Tweet from @AngelEtymon777, January 4, 2022
Tweet from @seokhooncart, January 4, 2022
Comments