The covid19 pandemic has caused drug shortages around the world, including TT, mostly due to the death and illness of employees and lockdowns affecting the supply chain.
President of the Pharmacy Board Andrew Rahaman told Sunday Newsday since the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, there have been problems with the shipping of raw materials to manufacturers, factories closing or not operating at 100 per cent, and shipping delays in supplies.
He said in TT there is a shortage of methylprednisolone, a steroid that relieves inflammation and is approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of covid19 as well as a few other drugs.
He called on the government to obtain methylprednisolone. He said although the parallel health care system was using another type of WHO-approved steroid, he believed methylprednisolone was more effective.
“I want what is best for our citizens and methylprednisolone is the first-line treatment. We may be using something that is WHO-approved but our death rate is high and increasing. I think it is very possible that the lack of methylprednisolone is contributing to it because, just like antibiotics, one might work well for one person but may not work at all for another.”
Also scarce in the country is potassium chloride injections used to treat or prevent low amounts of potassium in the blood; oxytocin injections, a hormone used to induce labour; Nimbex, a neuromuscular blocking agent used before general anaesthesia in preparation for surgery; liquid prednisolone, a corticosteroid used to treat inflammation of joints and organs, as well as breathing problems, cancer, and severe allergies; and Actemra which is used to treat multiple inflammatory diseases including rheumatoid arthritis.
Rahaman added that for months there was a shortage of adrenaline injection used for emergency treatment of anaphylactic shock but TT recently received a supply of EpiPens for adults. However, there was still a shortage of paediatric doses.
He said some countries are producing drugs but they are hoarding it for domestic use. He, therefore, asked that government-to-government negotiations take place as was done to procure covid19 vaccinations.
At a virtual press conference on January 8, Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said the country has never run out of any critical medication for an extended period despite global supply chain issues.
“So at the public sector level, at this point, because we monitor this literally on a daily basis when the Emergency Operations Committee meets, which I chair and that is one of the issues and one of the reports that come to us. So right now, as it stands, there are no major, long-term shortages of anything needed to fight both covid and for the normal health care system.”
President of the Medical Association Dr Vishi Beharry agreed that the disruption in the supply chain has caused drug shortages.
“Suppliers have told me the issue started with a lack of access to US currency. But when the pandemic hit, even though the medication was cons
