Medication

The recent shortage of drugs experienced by pharmacies across the country will be resolved in the coming weeks, as the production of drugs with high consumption will be increased significantly, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has pledged.

The situation with the availability of antibiotics in pharmacies is gradually normalizing. A large number of the missing drugs were found in bulk warehouses. This was reported to the Bulgarian National Radio by Nikolay Kostov from the Union of Pharmacy Owners. The problem remains with the lack of several types of insulin and other medications for people with diabetes.

New supplies of antibiotics and antivirals, which are missing from pharmacies in Bulgaria, are expected this week. In the coming days, the measure announced by the Minister of Health last week, according to which doctors and pharmacists will have access to information about missing and available drugs in wholesale warehouses, should also work.

The Financial Crimes Unit has identified a Greek branch of a global racket trafficking counterfeit drugs and doping substances, making deliveries to the US and more than 15 countries.

The national pharmaceuticals agency EOF has warned that certain named "preparations" for men being sold on the internet without a license can "seriously endanger the health of consumers."

The agency named the products as "Epimedyumlu Bitkisel Karışımlı Macun" or "Epimedium Macun," which are sold as natural products in the form of jam or paste.

Some of the medicines missing in the pharmacy network in Bulgaria - antibiotics and antiviral preparations - are arriving. New supplies are expected at the beginning of next week, said Arkadi Sharkov, a health economist from EKIP and an advisor to the Ministry of Health.

The president of the EOF, Dimitris Filippou, "foresees" the normalization of the drug market in the next ten days, as he stated on ERT channel on Monday.

Generic medication with the same therapeutic value is fully available for children, Health Minister Thanos Plevris said on Wednesday, seeking to reassure parents about shortages, particularly of inhalers and syrups.

The shortage in basic and widely used medicines that is being seen in the country's pharmacies in recent weeks, just as we are experiencing a spike in Covid, influenza and other such contagious diseases, is causing an enormous amount of insecurity among the public.

The problem of the lack of medicines in the Greek market has reached explosive proportions, resulting in an acute social problem and insecurity prevailing among thousands of patients.