US health officials have released supplies of the flu drug Tamiflu from a national stockpile as shortages of cold and respiratory medications persist nationwide.
(Bloomberg) — US health officials have released supplies of the flu drug Tamiflu from a national stockpile as shortages of cold and respiratory medications persist nationwide.
More than 52,000 treatment courses were sent to 10 states and one territory, according to an official from the Department of Health and Human Services who spoke on condition of anonymity. All states that requested Tamiflu received supplies, according to the official, who asked not to be named discussing matters that aren’t public.
Medicines used to treat influenza and bacterial infections have been in short supply for months amid a difficult season that’s included respiratory syncytial virus and Covid-19. Tamiflu, mainly sold under the generic name oseltamivir, has been hard to find since November. Major generic manufacturers told Bloomberg News that the shortages occurred after buyers that distribute the drug to pharmacies didn’t order sufficient quantities of oseltamivir far enough in advance.
The drug is typically used in the first 48 hours after flu symptoms start and can speed recovery up by a day. It’s particularly helpful to people at high risk of serious flu infections, such as young children and the frail elderly.
The US Strategic National Stockpile is generally used during pandemics and other emergencies, such as the 2009 H1N1 swine flu outbreak. States received federal permission in December to use their own stockpiles, and eight have done so, according to the HHS official. Soon after, the department made the national stockpile available as supply concerns continued. While flu has begun to abate, the season has been difficult with hospitalizations from the illness reaching levels not seen in more than a decade.
Dawn O’Connell, the HHS assistant secretary for preparedness and response, said that the deployment of Tamiflu courses across the country demonstrates that “the Strategic National Stockpile has made good on HHS and ASPR’s commitment to provide states with the support that they need this winter.”
Scarce Resource
Arizona, which doesn’t have its own state stockpile, approached the US government for help when it faced a surge in demand for Tamiflu over the winter.
“We heard from multiple counties in the state that, due to the increased demand, they needed assistance for a scarce resource,” said Theresa Ehnert, Arizona’s bureau chief for public health emergency preparedness, in an interview.
Arizona requested 42,000 adult courses of treatment on Dec. 20. It was granted a little more than 10,300, of which 6,000 have been sent to long-term-care pharmacies, tribal nations, hospitals and health centers. The state plans to request more when the supply runs out, Ehnert said.
Among reasons for the shortages is that commercial distributors can return unsold generic Tamiflu to manufacturers for a refund, drugmakers said, which encourages them to produce only as much as distributors ask for. Some customers returned supplies of the drug during the previous two flu seasons, when Covid-19 mitigation measures also limited the spread of flu, leading to lower demand, according to Lupin Ltd. and Amneal Pharmaceuticals Inc., two of the largest manufacturers of the drug for the US.
Amneal told distributors they would need to order more this season, but the orders didn’t come in time, leading to the shortages, Co-Chief Executive Officer Chirag Patel said in an interview.
Tamiflu remains in short supply, according to the University of Utah’s Drug Information Service, which tracks shortages. On Wednesday, the service posted a report showing that eight companies had supply limitations for some doses of the generic medicine and there were no issues with the branded drug. The FDA is not listing an overall shortage of the drug.
(Adds HHS comment in sixth paragraph.)
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