Shops are running low on supplies of paracetamol and ibuprofen as people stock up during the Omicron pandemic official figures show.
30% of shops have very limited supplies of both over-the-counter painkillers according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Professor Richard Wilding said: “People are having boosters, which probably means there's going to be an increase in people taking this product, then you've got colds, flus and Covid.
“Supply needs to actually catch up with that and work with that... the new normal for supply chains unfortunately is an awful lot of volatility and challenges with that.
“Products like this are therefore more likely to be disrupted.”
The latest figures show there was also short-supply in the run-up to Christmas when stock across the country was down by 25%, in terms of availability, reports the Telegraph.
Michelle Riddalls, head of consumer healthcare body Proprietary Association of Great Britain (PAGB), added: “Any gaps on over-the-counter medicine shelves are likely to be local, sporadic and filled within a relatively short time.”
Headaches have been reported as a symptom of Omicron and people with mild reactions to the vaccine are advised to take painkillers.
