Tamiflu back in stores next week after previous stocks expired

As of Friday, January 30, 2015

FLU drug Tamiflu should be back in stores next week after expired stocks were discarded by wholesalers this month.

Lowes Wholesale Drug Limited Managing Director William Cash III told The Tribune that they pulled the outdated inventory and expect the delivery of the antiviral drug next week.

He added that there was a low demand for the drug in New Providence given that doctors are mixed on its effectiveness.

“We have some coming in the early part of next week,” he said, “but there’s very little demand. We had stocks built up from the swine flu time, that was 2012, we just recently cleared out our expired inventory. We have a few replacements coming but the demand for Tamiflu is very low over the last two years.”

This month, Chief Medical Officer Dr Glen Beneby confirmed a “slight increase” in the number of reported flu cases in children around the country. He said officials were subsequently expecting an increase in adult cases, adding that the health workers were “prepared” and “ready” to handle the rise in cases.

Recent reports from the US Centres for Disease Control (CDC) have suggested that flu cases this season increased substantially compared to the year before. In some states, reported flu cases have increased by 30 per cent.