Covid spike in China: Pharma firms running 24/7 to meet demand for medicines

A pharmaceutical firm in China - Youcare Pharmaceutical Group - said on Tuesday (January 10) that it is running its production line 24/7 to ensure an adequate supply of medicines as the country faces a spike in Covid infections. During a government-organised visit of journalists to Youcare's factory, the pharmaceutical's Vice General Manager Zhang Jiang said the firm has mobilised all of its staff to work overtime. “It is not only for now, we will continue during the Lunar New Year holiday as well, we have told our staff at meetings that they won't be given time off," Jiang said on Tuesday, news agency Reuters reported on Wednesday.

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Jiang added that the workers will be paid three times their salary so that the firm can ensure an adequate supply of medicines. Youcare, meanwhile, also said that in the past month, it had boosted the output of anti-fever drugs five-fold to one million boxes a day.

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Pharmaceutical firms in China are confident of meeting the surge in demand for Covid-related medicines. Another firm, Beijing Double-Crane Pharmaceutical Company, said on Tuesday that it had ample production capacity.

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"At present, we have ample production capacity, especially solid tablet production, we are producing close to one million (pill packs). At the moment, our usual production capacity is able to meet current demand. In terms of business, as a whole, we are a large, comprehensive pharmaceutical company, so we supply the whole country and we produce nearly 200 kinds of products. So, for products like this, we can fully meet demand by expanding production within a quarter," Lu Wenchao, the Director General of China Resources at Beijing Double-Crane Pharmaceutical said, Reuters reported.

The government's abrupt decision to lift strict Covid restrictions in China caused an increased spread of the virus which forced citizens to turn to the black market for antiviral medicines. Citizens have been seeking out get generic versions of medicines online made elsewhere and not approved for sale in China.

To address the shortage, administrations in cities started distributing fever and cold medicines to people free of cost last month.

Despite the worsening pandemic situation, the government reopened borders and ended quarantine requirements for overseas travellers. Last Sunday (January 8), an official from the National Health Commission (NHC) said that emergency and severe Covid cases may peak in China's small and medium-sized cities, and pointed out that the country's medical services to treat the virus were facing an unprecedented challenge.

(With inputs from agencies)

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