- Tips for Spending Holiday Time With Family Members Who Live with Dementia
- Tainted Cucumbers Now Linked to 100 Salmonella Cases in 23 States
- Check Your Pantry, Lay’s Classic Potato Chips Recalled Due to Milk Allergy Risk
- Norovirus Sickens Hundreds on Three Cruise Ships: CDC
- Not Just Blabber: What Baby’s First Vocalizations and Coos Can Tell Us
- What’s the Link Between Memory Problems and Sexism?
- Supreme Court to Decide on South Carolina’s Bid to Cut Funding for Planned Parenthood
- Antibiotics Do Not Increase Risks for Cognitive Decline, Dementia in Older Adults, New Data Says
- A New Way to Treat Sjögren’s Disease? Researchers Are Hopeful
- Some Abortion Pill Users Surprised By Pain, Study Says
U.S. to Release Flu Meds From National Stockpile to Ease Shortages
Having trouble finding influenza meds at your local pharmacy? You’re not alone. Now, flu-infected patients will have better access to prescription medicines as the U.S. government releases doses of Tamiflu from the Strategic National Stockpile.
The Biden administration announced Wednesday it will release an unspecified number of doses to U.S. states as the country deals with an early and challenging flu season, the Associated Press reported.
About 150,000 people have been hospitalized with flu in the United States this season, and 9,300 have died, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
States will be able to request Tamiflu from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the CDC. The antiviral medication can help treat flu in patients as young as 2 weeks old.
“Jurisdictions will be able to get the support they need to keep Americans healthy as flu cases rise this winter,” Dawn O’Connell, an assistant secretary for preparedness and response at HHS, said in a statement.
States had already been given the go-ahead to dip into statewide Tamiflu stockpiles, making millions of doses available, the AP reported.
Hospitals this season have been strained by the so-called “tripledemic,” marked by widespread transmission of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
Both prescription and over-the-counter medications have been in short supply. Though Tamiflu is not experiencing a shortage, the prescription antibiotic amoxicillin has been dwindling because of demand.
Some stores have also seen shortages of over-the-counter pain relievers, especially those meant for children, leading to a two-product limit at CVS stores and online and a six-item limit online at Walgreens.
More information
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more on this year’s flu season.
SOURCE: Associated Press
Source: HealthDay
Copyright © 2024 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Related
-
Some Abortion Pill Users Surprised By Pain, Study SaysAbortion pills are safe and effective, but some pain...
- December 20, 2024
-
FDA: Veozah, First Hormone-Free Hot Flash Drug, Issued Black Box WarningThe U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued...
- December 18, 2024
-
Non-heterosexual Women Report Better Sexual Functioning During MidlifeTUESDAY, Dec. 17, 2024 A woman’s sex drive often...
- December 18, 2024
-
Task Force Supports Women Over 30 Collecting Samples for Cervical Cancer ScreeningIn guidelines that may encourage more women to get...
- December 10, 2024
