Pharmacists warn that pharmacies lack antibiotics, especially in pediatric doses, and neurological or diabetic drugs. Health Minister Adam Niedzielski reassured that "drug shortages in pharmacies are local, on a national scale, we have stocks for several months."
Pharmacists and patients have been struggling with the lack of availability of medicines for several months. This is due to several factors, including problems with drug distribution, logistics, or demand and supply, which increased during the pandemic. There is also a problem of illegal drug exports abroad.
The Minister of Health, Adam Niedzielski, recently asked by a television channel TVN24 about shortages of certain drugs in pharmacies, said that in the last week before Christmas, Poland had nearly 300,000 flu infections. Therefore, he explained, there is a greater demand for drugs than in previous years.
"If we look at the number of cases, it is not only higher than a year or two ago, during the pandemic, but higher than in 2019," he said.
“The drugs (…) were largely manufactured in China. It is redefining a bit because the market is constantly changing dynamically,” he said. He also mentioned that “a large part of the drugs flowed to Europe via Odesa (Ukraine), from distant Asia."
