RENO, Nev. (775 Times, NV Globe) – As flu-sickened individuals continue to swarm to hospitals and physicians’ offices around the country, the Biden administration said Wednesday that it will distribute prescription flu treatment from the Strategic National Stockpile to states.
This year’s flu season has been particularly severe and early. As instances have increased, some consumers are seeing barren shelves at pharmacies and grocery shops when they go shopping for over-the-counter medications. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the flu has resulted in 150,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 fatalities this season.
“Jurisdictions will be able to get the support they need to keep Americans healthy as flu cases rise this winter,” Dawn O’Connell, an assistant secretary for preparedness and response at the Health and Human Services Department, which oversees the CDC, said in a statement.
HHS will allow states to obtain doses of the prescription flu drug Tamiflu held in the Strategic National Stockpile. The government has not said how many dosages would be accessible. During the H1N1 pandemic, popularly known as swine flu, antiviral drugs were released from the stockpile more than a decade ago.
Last week, the federal government also stated that states will be able to draw from statewide Tamiflu stocks, making millions more treatment courses available. Tamiflu can be used to treat the flu in persons over the age of two weeks.
This flu season follows a terrible surge in RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, infections in youngsters, as well as an increase in COVID-19 cases.
Spot shortages of over-the-counter pain treatments and medications, particularly for children, have been reported in retailers around the country. HHS has stated that it is working with states to keep in-demand medications stocked, and pharma companies like as Johnson & Johnson have stated that production lines are functioning around the clock.
For example, CVS Health has imposed a two-product restriction on all children’s pain treatment medicines purchased through its pharmacies or online. Walgreens is restricting online purchases of children’s fever-reducing medications to six per customer.
Tamiflu is not in low supply, according to the Food and Drug Administration. However, due to rising demand, the federal agency reports that the prescription antibiotic amoxicillin is in low supply.
Credits: 2News
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