In cold season

Austrian Medical Association: Shortages of medication again

A raw materials warehouse for medicines

(Bild: APA/BARBARA GINDL)

There were again shortages of certain medications in the 2023/24 cold season, the Austrian Medical Association (ÖAK) reported on Wednesday. Examples include the Covid drug Paxlovid and the flu vaccine. In order to improve the situation, politicians would have to bring production facilities to Europe and also Austria.

There should be no "parallel exports" and the price gap must be brought under control, said ÖAK President Johannes Steinhart on Wednesday. This "would of course also require fair prices for medicines." Independence is important. This winter, active ingredient warehouses have already been set up so that medicines can be produced in pharmacies. According to Steinhart, however, logistics are a challenge. With the expiration dates, it is also "difficult to estimate what is actually stored."

Active ingredient warehouse not yet necessary
According to the Medical Association, the active ingredient warehouse has not been needed so far. However, there have been shortages or supply bottlenecks for medicines. The population is already getting used to this to a certain extent, said ÖAK Vice President Edgar Wutscher. For example, there have been shortages of antihypertensives, cancer drugs, gastric protection and drugs used to treat diseases of the nervous system.

The Medical Association is still against prescribing active ingredients instead of prescribing certain medicines. In any case, there is a "great need to act", said Steinhart with a view to next fall and winter. The Association of the Austrian Pharmaceutical Industry (Pharmig) gave its approval to the establishment of European drug production.