By Amanda Seitz -
The Associated Press
The Government chaired by Joe Biden reported this Wednesday that it will distribute prescription flu medications to states that need them and that are currently stored in the Strategic National Reserve, amid a wave of infections that has overwhelmed clinics and hospitals in the whole country.
Flu season has arrived this year with a bang and earlier than usual, and although cases are already subsiding, the shelves of over-the-counter flu medicines are empty at some stores and pharmacies.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that influenza has caused 150,000 hospitalizations and 9,300 deaths this season.
“States will be able to get the support they need to keep citizens healthy,” said Dawn O'Connell, assistant secretary for Preparedness and Response at the Department of Health, which oversees the CDC.
[Walgreens and CVS limit the sale of children's medicines]
Flu shot in Los Angeles on Oct. 28. Mark J. Terrill / AP
States will be able to request doses of the flu drug Tamiflu that is being held in the Strategic National Stockpile, although it has not been disclosed how many doses will be available.
The last time something similar was done was more than a decade ago, in the pandemic of the H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu.
The government announced last week that it would allow states to use state stockpiles of Tamiflu, thus making millions of treatments available.
This flu season comes on the heels of a surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases in children and just as COVID-19 cases are on the rise again.
[More than 100 million cases of COVID-19 in the US]
They report high occupancy in hospitals due to respiratory viruses and it will be worse for the New Year
Dec 18, 202201:59
There have been occasional shortages of painkillers and over-the-counter drugs in stores around the country, especially for children.
Federal authorities indicated that they are working hand in hand with states and drug manufacturers such as Johnson & Johnson to secure supplies.
Pharmacy chain CVS Health has set a purchase limit of two pain relief products for children;
and Walgreens limited its customers to a maximum of six over-the-counter pediatric fever-reducing products to avoid possible stock-outs.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not reported a shortage of Tamiflu.
However, it did record that the antibiotic amoxicillin is in short supply due to increased demand.
