The truth about the anti-flu drug Tamiflu 'out of stock' and price chaos

Recently, the number of cases of influenza A has increased, causing the market for Tamiflu - an antiviral drug that is effective in treating influenza A - to "dance", and the price of the drug has increased compared to the previous period.

Tamiflu is sold for nearly 500,000 VND/box of 10 pills at a pharmacy in Ha Dong district, Hanoi.

Tamiflu drug price chaos

According to the Ministry of Health, in Vietnam, flu cases have increased locally since the end of 2024 and the Lunar New Year. However, there has been no sudden increase compared to previous years, the main agents are influenza A/H3N2, A/H1N1 and influenza B.

Recently, some hospitals reported severe cases of influenza A, causing many people to worry. Many people with flu symptoms bought Tamiflu - an antiviral drug to treat influenza A - considered a "miracle drug" when they contracted influenza A.

Mr. Thang (35 years old, Hanoi) has symptoms of cough, runny nose, headache, and body aches. Although he has not been diagnosed with influenza A, based on the symptoms and the fact that many people have influenza A, Mr. Thang determined that he had influenza A and bought Tamiflu for treatment at a price of 52,000 VND/pill.

In Hanoi, at a drug store (Ha Dong district), the pharmacist at the counter advised that Tamiflu should only be taken when confirmed to have influenza A and that the drug is effective within 48 hours from the onset of fever.

"Since Tet, the price of medicine has increased. Yesterday, the medicine cost 48,000 VND/pill, today it increased by nearly 2,000 VND to nearly 50,000 VND/pill. There are not many medicines at the counter, currently there are only 4 boxes left. This time, there is an influenza A epidemic, so medicine is scarcer," this person said.

Besides, this pharmacist also advised that it is possible to use a cheaper Vietnamese antiviral drug to treat influenza A.

Meanwhile, a chain of drug stores in Hanoi quoted the price of Tamiflu at 520,000 VND/box/10 pills. "Tamiflu is still available, the price has only increased slightly compared to before Tet," this person said.

In Ho Chi Minh City, many pharmacies in the area are crowded with people buying cough and runny nose medicine. Many parents also go to the cough medicine stores to buy medicine for their children.

Some pharmacies say they have run out of Tamiflu for a long time. Some pharmacies say many people with flu symptoms are coming to buy the medicine at this time.

A pharmacy named KP located on Dang Van Bi Street, Truong Tho Ward, Thu Duc City said that in recent days, many people have come to ask to buy Tamiflu to treat the flu.

However, this pharmacy is currently out of stock, out of stock since before Tet and it is still unclear when the medicine will be available again.

At pharmacy P., besides selling two foreign flu medications and one domestically produced flu A medication, the seller said that these are prescription drugs that require a doctor's prescription, but if the buyer has a need, they can still sell them retail.

Although Tamiflu is an antiviral drug that is only available with a doctor's prescription, some drug stores still sell it without a prescription.

According to Tuoi Tre Online , the price of Tamiflu in Ho Chi Minh City has increased recently. In addition, some drug stores do not sell Tamiflu but advise other antiviral drugs to treat influenza A at a "softer" price.

With Tamiflu, the selling price is 69,000 VND/tablet, a box of 10 tablets is 690,000 VND. With antiviral drugs to treat influenza A produced in Vietnam, the selling price is 16,500 VND/tablet, a box of 10 tablets is 165,000 VND.

Doctors advise people not to buy Tamiflu to stockpile

When the influenza A epidemic broke out in July 2022, the price of Tamiflu increased, even increasing to 800,000 - 900,000 VND/box/10 tablets. At that time, many stores were short of medicine due to the off-season epidemic and did not have enough stock.

This time of year is considered the right season for influenza A, so although the price of Tamiflu has increased, it is not as high as before.

Tamiflu drug is rampant in the 'online market'

On social networking sites, many accounts and drug stores advertise the sale of Tamiflu, even recommending that people keep 1-2 packs of the medicine at home as a precaution against influenza A.

In the group "Vietnam Pharmacy Association", many accounts continuously post articles searching for Tamiflu to treat flu. Under each article, there are dozens, hundreds of comments saying that they accept wholesale and retail sale of the drug at various prices.

Mostly hand-carried medicines from countries such as Russia and France. These stores sell them for 570,000 - 650,000 VND/box/10 pills.

Sharing with Tuoi Tre Online , Mr. Nguyen Trung Dung, director of Phuong Chinh pharmacy chain, said that the pharmacy chain currently still has about 400 boxes of Tamiflu for sale at 8 stores. He also commented that there is currently a "virtual fever" for Tamiflu because people are mainly buying in reserve, the number of customers buying the drug with a prescription is quite small.

However, this is a prescription drug, requiring a doctor's prescription, so people should not panic and buy medicine in reserve. Currently, many pharmacy chains are still selling at stable prices, the price has increased compared to normal times but not too high. Currently, the pharmacy is selling at 520,000 VND/box/10 pills, Mr. Dung said.

The Drug Administration of Vietnam (Ministry of Health) publicly announced on its website the expected wholesale price of Tamiflu hard capsules (75mg), box of 1 blister pack of 10 capsules, priced at 44,877 VND/capsule, equivalent to nearly 450,000 VND/box.

Do not use Tamiflu without permission.

According to Dr. Nguyen Tien Dung - former head of the pediatrics department, Bach Mai Hospital, the erratic weather, suddenly changing from hot to cold in a day, is a favorable condition for respiratory viruses, including influenza virus, to develop.

Some drug stores advise replacing Tamiflu with Flustad, a drug made in Vietnam, at a cheaper price to treat influenza A.

Faced with the situation of people rushing to buy Tamiflu, Dr. Dung said that 80-90% of flu cases are mild and can recover on their own. Only cases with high fever, continuous fever, and lung damage need to be hospitalized for treatment.

"And not all flu patients use Tamiflu. Mild cases of flu do not need to take Tamiflu, the disease will go away on its own. At this time, people need to understand Tamiflu correctly to avoid the mentality of rushing to waste money buying this drug because of rumors that it is a "miracle drug" for flu treatment," Dr. Dung emphasized.

In addition, Tamiflu is only effective if the flu is diagnosed early within the first 48 hours, with fever symptoms and under the doctor's instructions. After 48 hours, patients are mainly treated with fever reducers and care to prevent complications.

Tamiflu also causes some side effects. According to medical experts, the most common side effect of Tamiflu is that it can cause vomiting. In addition, there are diarrhea, headaches, and kidney toxicity in people with kidney disease.

"Worryingly, the abuse of Tamiflu can lead to many health consequences, such as increasing drug resistance," Dr. Dung warned.

Tamiflu must be taken as directed and prescribed by a physician. If you have symptoms of cough, fever, runny nose, headache, or fatigue, you should go to a medical facility immediately for examination and timely treatment.

Penalties for taking advantage of the epidemic to increase drug prices

Speaking with Tuoi Tre Online , a representative of the pharmaceutical business management department, Department of Drug Administration, Ministry of Health said they will review and inspect the supply of Tamiflu.

In addition, the Department has also requested the Department of Health of provinces and cities to direct hospitals and drug businesses in the area to strictly implement regulations on drug price management (listing drug prices and selling according to listed prices, purchasing drugs at prices not higher than the declared wholesale and retail prices, re-declaring announced prices), not taking advantage of the epidemic situation to speculate, hoard goods and push up drug prices for profit.

In case of selling antibiotics without prescription and raising drug prices, penalties will be imposed according to regulations.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thuc-hu-thuoc-tamiflu-chong-cum-khan-hang-loan-gia-20250209123755967.htm