Nina Droff, edited by Gauthier Delomez
You may have seen it in your pharmacy, trying to buy Doliprane or Dafalgan. Pharmacies are experiencing a tight supply of paracetamol-based drugs, due to several factors. Europe 1 takes stock with the president of the Federation of pharmacists.
It is not yet a shortage, but a “tension”. In recent days, difficulties in the supply of paracetamol have been observed in French pharmacies. This affects the delivery of widely consumed drugs, such as Doliprane or Dafalgan. This is why the government decided to ban this Wednesday the online sale of paracetamol until the end of January. To explain this crisis, there are several factors.
China restricts exports
First, we note an explosion in the demand for paracetamol this winter with the epidemics of Covid-19 and influenza. However, it is above all the wave of Covid-19 in China that explains this tension. The country has limited its drug exports to prioritize its population, after the abandonment of the “zero Covid” policy. “We have drop-by-drop deliveries, with patient requests which are still very strong”, says Philippe Besset, president of the Federation of Pharmacists.
“We have a lot of pharmacies out of stock. We are in crisis management for the whole month of January”, he underlines at the microphone of Europe 1.
In pharmacies, the sale of paracetamol without a prescription is always limited to two boxes per person, and sometimes only one box if it is intended for children. The pharmacists’ unions are to meet with the Medicines Agency on Thursday to take stock of the situation.