Brian Godman1,2,3,4, Mainul Haque5, Salequl Islam6, Samiul Iqbal7, Umme Laila Urmi6, Zubair Mahmood Kamal8, Shahriar Ahmed Shuvo9, Aminur Rahman10, Mustafa Kamal11, Monami Haque12, Iffat Jahan13, Md Zakirul Islam14, Mohammad Monir Hossain15, Santosh Kumar16, Jaykaran Charan17, Rohan Bhatt18, Siddhartha Dutta17, Jha Pallavi Abhayanand17, Yesh Sharma19, Zikria Saleem20, Thuy Nguyen Thi Phuong21, Hye-Young Kwon1,22, Amanj Kurdi1,23, Janney Wale24, Israel Sefah25,26. 1. Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, United Kingdom. 2. Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, Karolinska University Hospital Huddinge, Stockholm, Sweden. 3. School of Pharmacy, Sefako Makgatho Health Sciences University, Pretoria, South Africa. 4. School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia. 5. Unit of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Defence Health, Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia (National Defence University of Malaysia), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 6. Department of Microbiology, Jahangirnagar University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 7. Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 8. Integrated Sleep Disorders Center, McGuire VAMC/VCU Health, Richmond, VA, United States. 9. RMC Hospital & Diagnostic Complex Ltd., Dhaka, Bangladesh. 10. Finance & Account Division, Grameen Euglena, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 11. Al-Manar Hospital Ltd., Modern Hospital Cumilla Ltd., Dhaka, Bangladesh. 12. Human Resource Department, Square Toiletries Limited, Rupayan Center, Dhaka, Bangladesh. 13. Department of Physiology, Eastern Medical College, Comilla, Bangladesh. 14. Department of Pharmacology, Eastern Medical College, Comilla, Bangladesh. 15. Department of Anatomy, Eastern Medical College, Comilla, Bangladesh. 16. Department of Periodontology and Implantology, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar, India. 17. Department of Pharmacology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Jodhpur, India. 18. Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Karnavati University, Gandhinagar, India. 19. Department of Conservative Dentistry and Endodontics, Rajasthan University of Health Sciences, Jaipur, India. 20. Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, The University of Lahore, Lahore, Pakistan. 21. Pharmaceutical Administration & PharmacoEconomics, Hanoi University of Pharmacy, Hanoi, Vietnam. 22. College of Pharmacy, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea. 23. Department of Pharmacology, College of Pharmacy, Hawler Medical University, Erbil, Iraq. 24. Independent Consumer Advocate, Brunswick, VIC, Australia. 25. Ghana Health Service, Keta Municipal Hospital, Pharmacy Department, Keta, Ghana. 26. University of Health and Allied Sciences, School of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Practice Department, Volta Region, Ghana.
Abstract
Background: Countries have introduced a variety of measures to prevent and treat COVID-19 with medicines and personal protective equipment (PPE), with some countries adopting preventative strategies earlier than others. However, there has been considerable controversy surrounding some treatments. This includes hydroxychloroquine where the initial hype and misinformation lead to shortages, price rises and suicides. Price rises and shortages have also been seen for PPE. Such activities can have catastrophic effects on patients where there are high co-payment levels and issues of affordability. Consequently, there is a need to investigate this further. Objective: Assess changes in the availability, utilization and prices of relevant medicines and PPE during the pandemic among a range of Asian countries. Our approach: Narrative literature review combined with interviews among community pharmacists to assess changes in consumption, prices and shortages of medicines and PPE from the beginning of March 2020 until end of May 2020. In addition, suggestions on ways to reduce misinformation. Results: 308 pharmacists took part from five Asian countries. There was an appreciable increase in the utilization of antimicrobials in Pakistan (in over 88% of pharmacies), with lower increases or no change in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Vietnam. Encouragingly, there was increased use of vitamins/immune boosters and PPE across the countries, as well as limited price rises for antimicrobials in India, Malaysia and Vietnam, although greater price rises seen for analgesics and vitamin C/immune boosters. Appreciable price increases were also seen for PPE across some countries. Conclusion: Encouraging to see increases in utilization of vitamins/immune boosters and PPE. However, increases in the utilization and prices of antimicrobials is a concern that needs addressing alongside misinformation and any unintended consequences from the pandemic. Community pharmacists can play a key role in providing evidence-based advice, helping to moderate prices, as well as helping address some of the unintended consequences of the pandemic.
Background: Countries have introduced a variety of measures to prevent and treat COVID-19 with medicines and personal protective equipment (PPE), with some countries adopting preventative strategies earlier than others. However, there has been considerable controversy surrounding some treatments. This includes hydroxychloroquine where the initial hype and misinformation lead to shortages, price rises and suicides. Price rises and shortages have also been seen for PPE. Such activities can have catastrophic effects on patients where there are high co-payment levels and issues of affordability. Consequently, there is a need to investigate this further. Objective: Assess changes in the availability, utilization and prices of relevant medicines and PPE during the pandemic among a range of Asian countries. Our approach: Narrative literature review combined with interviews among community pharmacists to assess changes in consumption, prices and shortages of medicines and PPE from the beginning of March 2020 until end of May 2020. In addition, suggestions on ways to reduce misinformation. Results: 308 pharmacists took part from five Asian countries. There was an appreciable increase in the utilization of antimicrobials in Pakistan (in over 88% of pharmacies), with lower increases or no change in Bangladesh, India, Malaysia and Vietnam. Encouragingly, there was increased use of vitamins/immune boosters and PPE across the countries, as well as limited price rises for antimicrobials in India, Malaysia and Vietnam, although greater price rises seen for analgesics and vitamin C/immune boosters. Appreciable price increases were also seen for PPE across some countries. Conclusion: Encouraging to see increases in utilization of vitamins/immune boosters and PPE. However, increases in the utilization and prices of antimicrobials is a concern that needs addressing alongside misinformation and any unintended consequences from the pandemic. Community pharmacists can play a key role in providing evidence-based advice, helping to moderate prices, as well as helping address some of the unintended consequences of the pandemic.
Authors: Kiran Ramzan; Sameen Shafiq; Iqra Raees; Zia Ul Mustafa; Muhammad Salman; Amer Hayat Khan; Johanna C Meyer; Brian Godman Journal: Antibiotics (Basel) Date: 2022-06-09
Authors: Ishtiaq Ahmad; Gaku Masuda; Sugishita Tomohiko; Chaudhry Ahmed Shabbir Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-05-15 Impact factor: 4.614