Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Demand for Tamiflu is now outpacing supply as Central New Yorkers begin to bounce back from a flu outbreak.
A substantial spike in demand occurred mid-February and many people flocked to their local pharmacies for the antiviral medication.
To treat everyone, pharmacists have resorted to a creative solution - making the liquid form of the medication on their own , which is called compounding. Tamiflu is a liquid treatment for flu, which is used by children and people who can’t swallow pills.
Only one company – Roche – manufactures the liquid medication world-wide . Roche was caught off guard by the surge in orders. The medication has been in short supply since January. And now, whatever supply remained is gone. A spokesperson for Roche says the company won’t be producing more of the drug this flu season.
Local pharmacies have been making their own oral suspension since Roche began providing instructions to pharmacists detailing how to turn the capsules into the liquid form.
“It goes in spikes, it’s tough to predict,” said pharmacist David Dingman. “All of a sudden you get a certain family or a certain group of people who get contacted with the flu, you might fill 30 prescriptions in a day. Then you might go a week and a half without seeing anybody. It’s just a matter of where the flu is hitting.”
Tamiflu is meant to be taken as soon as flu symptoms show up in order to shorten the duration.
Fortunately for Central New Yorkers, doctors are seeing fewer cases of the flu.
Although flu season is well underway, flu shots are still available. People started to get their shots in August, which is the earliest month pharmacists have ever given the vaccination. They say that they will continue to offer vaccinations, noting that it’s never too late to be vaccinated.
