Taiwan mulls Panadol controls as mainland China’s Covid-19 surge sparks run on pain and fever drug
- Taiwan stores fast running out of the paracetamol brand as locals snap up the drug for friends and family on the mainland as it battles a Covid-19 surge
- Health authorities urge the public not to stockpile or bulk buy for sending overseas, and warn of fines if shipments are intercepted at customs
Demand for Panadol, a well-known paracetamol brand manufactured by UK-based Haleon Plc, had risen sharply in Taiwan over the past week, with many pharmacies running out, Taiwanese health authorities said.
They said officials might be forced to take action to control the situation if locals kept buying the drug in unusually large quantities, with many of the supplies being sent to the mainland.
02:16
Demand for Covid tests, medications in mainland China empties shelves in Hong Kong, Thailand
“It is true that there is a buying spree of this particular [paracetamol] brand Panadol across Taiwan,” health minister Hsueh Jui-yuan said on Wednesday.
“We are closely monitoring the situation as well as the supply and demand conditions of the pharmaceutical market in Taiwan,” he said, after reporters pressed him on whether there would be any official action to control the sudden surge in demand.
Wang Pi-sheng, head of Taiwan’s epidemic control command centre, said they had carried out a survey of pharmacies and found Panadol stocks were fast running out.
“There have been bulk purchases of Panadol resulting in shortages of supplies of the medicine in Taiwan. In view of this, we have contacted the manufacturer to see if they could speed up shipments to help meet the market demand,” Wang said.