How Australia dodged a major drug shortage during COVID-19
The CEO of Medicines Australia Elizabeth de Somer explains what happened and why we will continue to rely on overseas supplies
Remember when Australia was about to run out of medications because of COVID-19?
Back in March, there were bleak warnings that the nation’s drug supply — 90% of which comes from overseas — was about to disappear into a hole amid the global shutdown.
India had already banned exports of paracetamol; China happened to be a key source of active ingredients for a huge number of important pharmaceuticals, and the global supply chain of antibiotics had become a “house of cards” in the words of one Australian doctor.
Six months on, most drugs remain widely available. Even though some 600,000 PBS scripts are written by doctors each day, supply is not a COVID-19 issue.
