Drug shortages: Russo will gather “pharma sector players” next week

Facing concerns about shortages of some drugs, the health minister will bring together “all players in the pharmaceutical sector” next week. With their help, Aurélien Rousseau wants to understand the gap “between the global figures of where we have doses and what our fellow citizens are experiencing who cannot find certain drugs.” “What is the problem, that’s what we need to understand,” he said on RTL on Tuesday morning.

However, the Minister recalls that 450 drugs are under the supervision of the ANSM (National Agency for the Safety of Medicines). In response to a question from AFP on Friday, the agency said there were “just under 3,500 reports of ruptures or risks of ruptures” at the end of August. At the end of September, “40% of these declarations” contained “necessary management measures.” It’s a “situation similar to 2022,” the same source added.

To explain the lack of stock of drugs in certain places in France, Aurelien Rousseau makes several points: “There are certain very large pharmacies that order directly from manufacturers, have excess stock, and therefore do not go to small pharmacies” for certain drugs. , He says.

But it also points to patient overstocking. “We all still have a few boxes of medicine at home and we don’t feel like we’re stocking up on them. We’re all a bit of a pharmacist,” he says. And “when we’re afraid there’s going to be a drug shortage, we buy the drugs a little ahead of time,” which he said could contribute to shortages.

“The more we are protected from epidemics, the less medicine we will need”

The Health Minister casually reminds us that “there are shortage situations all over Europe.” But also that “the more we are protected from epidemics, the less we will need medicine. Last year we had a big deficit because we had three epidemics at the same time,” he said.

In contrast to last year, this month of October saw “a recovery of stocks at the pharmacy level and a recovery of stocks at the industrial level, as well as the application of an enhanced winter plan,” ANSM said again, pointing to stocks “available on national territory, but still with this difficulty in ensuring that the distribution throughout the territory is completely uniform.”

Aurélien Rousseau also stressed that the flu vaccination campaign is “starting well, we are moving faster than last year”, with 1.6 million people currently vaccinated. As for Covid, vaccinations have “passed 2 million vaccinated, almost a million more than last year on the same day, although we talk less about Covid,” he rejoices. Aurélien Rousseau reminds that both vaccines can be administered at the same time and that they are safe.

The minister was simultaneously questioned about the death of a schoolboy in Loire-Atlantique, who felt unwell a few minutes after being vaccinated against the papilloma virus. According to the Loire Regional Health Agency (ARS), during his illness he “fell heavily on his head”, which resulted in a head injury and death.

“Vagal discomfort is the first risk with any vaccination,” the minister assures. “It’s the needle, the fear of the needle,” and it “has nothing to do with the product being administered, we know that.” He assures that an investigation is underway, but reminds that this is “undoubtedly one of the safest vaccines in the world.” “Of the 20,000 other doses administered in France, “we have not had a single case of this kind,” he assures.