Hong Kong pharmacies run out of flu meds amid panic buying

Bloomberg: Hong Kong’s pharmacies are running out of flu and cold medicines as residents stock up on essential supplies to ride out any potential lockdowns in a city overwhelmed by record Covid-19 cases and surging deaths.

There’s been a run on Panadol, a popular brand of the pain reliever paracetamol, and the drug was mostly unavailable Monday at local chains including Watsons and Mannings, as well as online shopping platform HKTVMall. Other medicines such as Mucinex, Fluimucil and Fortune Coltalin were also out of stock.

The scarcity of the common drugs underscores the angst that’s gripped the city of 7.4 million people in the face of its largest-ever coronavirus outbreak. Hong Kong reported more than 34,000 cases on Monday, its hospitals are inundated and the city’s morgues are nearly full, with bodies of those who died from Covid left in emergency wards and hallways.

Watsons, a unit of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd, said it had seen a “significant surge in demand” for Panadol, cold and flu products, and rapid test kits since last week. The chain added in an emailed statement that it would work with suppliers to meet the demand and that prices would remain unchanged for now. Mannings, controlled by Jardine Matheson Holdings Ltd, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Officials haven’t fully ruled out a lockdown during a planned citywide mandatory testing period, Commercial Radio Hong Kong reported, citing Sophia Chan, secretary for food and health. The prospect of increasing curbs — a possibility that’s been dismissed by Chief Executive Carrie Lam on multiple occasions earlier — prompted many residents to queue up at supermarkets to hoard provisions.