Taipei
Taiwanâs government has been planning to restrict pain relief medicationsâ bulk buying as people have started stocking up, some even trying to ship their bulk purchases to China, where the worsening situation of Covid-19 has dried up the medical supplies.
Taiwanâs Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan, while speaking to the lawmakers on Thursday at a legislative committee hearing, said that firstly the pharmacies will be instructed by the health agency to advise customers against stocking up on Panadol and related drugs.
Hsueh said that a discussion would be held by the health authorities regarding imposing restrictions if needed later, however, they have no such concrete plan in place as of now, reported the official news agency Focus Taiwan.
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Taiwan has been facing a shortage of Covid-related medicine and fever reducer paracetamol since May when there was a surge in local cases, reported by several pharmacies in Taipei. One of the pharmacies said that, in the past weeks, customers have been stocking up on medicine amid the fear of surging Covid cases after Taiwanâs borders were re-opened for tourists in October.
âWe ran out of stock for Panadol fairly quickly and we donât expect restocking any time soon until probably after the lunar new year, which falls in late January next year,â one of the employees working at a pharmacy in Taipeiâs Daâan district said.
Few drug buyers in Taiwan are planning to ship the painkiller to China which is witnessing a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases and related deaths after the countryâs zero-Covid restrictions were relaxed.
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âI plan to purchase a variety of drugs that can help fight Covid when I return to work in Shenzhen,â stated Taiwanese entrepreneur Lee, adding, âI even plan to resell some of the drugs to my friends.â
Chang, who is currently in Taipei on a vacation and works as a Taiwanese product designer in Beijing, said that he plans to purchase rapid antigen test kits and fever drugs before coming back to work next year.
âI feel thereâs a high chance for me to get infected after I return to Beijing, so I figure Iâd prepare some drugs to avoid all the hectic I may experience trying to get a hold of drugs,â he added.
(With inputs from agencies)