Warehouses are full

The run on pharmacies is starting again

There is no shortage of antibiotics and the situation is more relaxed than in previous years. However, some medicines are difficult to deliver and have to be ordered from abroad.

(Bild: Markus Wenzel)

Coughs, colds, fevers! With the falling temperatures, the number of infections is rising: 45,000 people in Upper Austria are lying flat, Covid and colds are on the rise. The demand for medication is increasing in pharmacies, but there is not (yet) a shortage like in previous years.

Upper Austria is already in the middle of cold season. Expressed in figures: the health insurance fund reports almost 45,000 sick days among its policyholders, around 5,000 more than in the previous week and roughly the same number as in the same period last year.

Most are down with flu-like infections (11,551), but Covid (1316 reports) and influenza (75) are also already rampant.

What is crossing the pharmacy counter
This is already noticeable in pharmacies: "There is an increased demand for cold medicines. The demand for corona tests is also rising significantly now," says Thomas Veitschegger, President of the Upper Austrian Chamber of Pharmacists. In particular, fever-reducing medicines, cold sprays, throat tablets and medicines for headaches and aching limbs are currently being sold more frequently.

Demand for cold remedies is increasing. Demand for coronavirus tests is also rising significantly.

Thomas Veitschegger, Präsident der Apothekerkammer OÖ

Bild: © Harald Dostal

"No shortage to be seen"
However, empty pharmacy shelves are not in sight - unlike in previous years, when antibiotics in particular were out of stock in Upper Austria during the winter months. "There is no apparent shortage at the moment," says Veitschegger. However, there are medicines that cannot be supplied, for which pharmacies have to find solutions. It is difficult to pinpoint a precise reason for the generally more relaxed situation this year: "It goes through many places before the medicine reaches us. It may be due to better stockpiling or fewer delivery problems in the Far East."

The easing of tensions can also be seen elsewhere: In the fall of 2023, the Ministry of Health and pharmaceutical wholesalers created a stockpile of ingredients for common antibiotics and medicines for cold symptoms, which domestic pharmacies can access in an emergency. "Since the stockpile of active ingredients was created, these reserves have not yet been called upon," says the ministry.