With the surge of Covid-19 infections over the past days, some patients, who are receiving treatment at home, have complained that they were unable to obtain medicines that are usually used to treat the symptoms of viral infections, as well as nutritional supplements, due to their scarcity in the market and their sudden price increase.
The head of the Lebanese Pharmaceuticals Importers Association, Karim Gebara, talked about insufficiency of stocks, in particular analgesics, such as Panadol, noting that the situation would start to improve “at the beginning of next week” with the import of generic drugs.
As for nutritional supplements, Gebara noted that those were not subsidized by the Central Bank, thus their prices were subject to the value of the US dollar in the parallel market.
Advisor to the Minister of Health, Riad Fadlallah, stressed that Remdesivir - the main medicine used for the treatment of the coronavirus – was available in large quantities. He added that other drugs, which a number of doctors consider suitable for treating the virus, were also available.
Fadlallah told Asharq Al-Awsat that the ministry was giving fast authorizations, taking into account the requirements, to import drugs and nutritional supplements that are effective in treating the virus symptoms.
Covid-19 cases in Lebanon increased unprecedentedly with the beginning of 2021, due to the leniency in preventive measures during the celebration of Christmas and New Year. This prompted the authorities to impose a full lockdown despite the crippling economic crisis in the country.
The daily number of infections exceeded 5,000 with most hospitals designated to receive Covid-19 patients reaching their maximum capacity. The total number of infections in Lebanon exceeded 210,000, and more than 1,500 deaths.
