Local drug shortage made worse by China’s Covid fears

Fears of a catastrophic new wave of Covid infections in China have rippled to Australia, with pharmacies nationwide capping sales of common cold remedies to ensure local supply.

People queue to buy antigen test kits at a pharmacy in Hangzhou, in China's eastern Zhejiang province. Picture: AFP

Pharmacies around Australia are capping the number of cold and flu medications and pain killers they sell as Chinese Australians buy up large quantities of Panadol and other medicines to send to family members in China, now facing a potentially catastrophic new wave of Covid infections.

Pharmacists say they need to impose purchase limits amid an already months-long drug shortage after local stocks were ransacked when China lifted its Covid-zero policy on December 7.

Chinese residents rushed to snap up antigen kits and cold and flu medicines when the restrictions were eased, with many queuing outside pharmacies and flooding retail websites to stock up.

Pharmacist Daniel Ng, who operates in Haymarket – near Sydney’s Chinatown district – says it is the “strangest” thing he has seen in his 37 year-long career.

“We have so many things selling out, which we’ve never experienced,” he said.

Mr Ng says he’s never worked in a pharmacy where Panadol wasn’t available. “It’s like our bread and butter, but we don’t even have it.”

Mr Ng said demand for the pain killer – which is also used to treat fevers – was “really bad” in the week after China eased its zero-Covid policy.

Authorities stuck to their strict zero-tolerance approach to containing Covid until December 7. Picture: Getty Images.

The policy, which China stuck with through the pandemic, kept its population largely protected from successive waves of Covid infection and deaths. But the economy paid the price.

After widespread protests, China lifted some of its harshest restrictions – such as requiring locals to register their names to purchase cold medicine – and is now experiencing a spike in infections.

Harvard epidemiologist Eric Feigl-Ding described the situation as “thermonuclear bad” and said hospitals are already “completely overwhelmed”.

Dr Feigl-Ding tweeted a video apparently showing a hospital ward tightly packed with at least 12 people, including children, sleeping on ventilators in hospital and fold-out beds.

He said epidemiologists estimated more than 60 per cent of the population was likely to be infected in the next 90 days, with “deaths likely in the millions”.

⚠️THERMONUCLEAR BAD—Hospitals completely overwhelmed in China ever since restrictions dropped. Epidemiologist estimate >60% of 🇨🇳 & 10% of Earth’s population likely infected over next 90 days. Deaths likely in the millions—plural. This is just the start—🧵pic.twitter.com/VAEvF0ALg9

— Eric Feigl-Ding (@DrEricDing) December 19, 2022

Multiple Sydney pharmacists said customers were asking specifically for boxes of Panadol, which were being touted on Chinese social media as the drug to take “in case” of Covid infection.

Their problem, though, was that Panadol has been in short supply for at least six months in Australia.

“We have no excess stock, we don’t hold more than a week or two of stock,” Mr Ng said.

Deliveries sometimes took months, and pharmacists said they could only get “small packs” of 20 or 40 tablets.

A pharmacy in Burwood, like many others in Australia, has been struggling to meet demand for Panadol. Picture: Sydney Today

All pharmacies The Australian spoke to said they enforced caps, and some kept stock behind the dispensary to control purchases.

Chatswood pharmacist Richard Lam said some customers were trying to find loopholes in his store’s limit.

“I’ve had certain cases buy one pack, leave the shop, and try to buy another one,” he said.

And although many customers “panic buying” were Chinese-Australians, Mr Lam and Ashfield pharmacy manager Mouhammad Neouchi said there were plenty of others trying to stock up.

“The kind of panic stations that Covid has created has created that environment where people will try to source items and buy what they can,” Mr Neouchi said. “For a time we couldn’t get any paracetamol, but now we’re getting generic brands trickling in and customers won’t purchase them. They want Panadol.”

Stores have introduced purchase caps to curb excessive purchasing. This shopper was photographed in Melbourne on December 13. Picture: Xiaohongshu

Pharmacists said they had received no explanation from the company for the shortage.

A Haleon spokesperson told The Australian: “During 2022, there were shortages of some Panadol products in Australia caused by ongoing Covid-19 related supply chain issues and increased demand due to the high incidence of Covid-19, colds and flu in the community. However, we are now seeing improved stock levels.”