DUBAI: Pharmacists in the UAE have ignored regulations on the sale of Tamiflu to satisfy “panic” demand for the drug following a flu outbreak. “We ran out of stock about a week ago. When the news came out about the cases in Mexico we had people flooding into the pharmacy asking for Tamiflu,” one pharmacist said.
Ali Al-Marzouki, director of public health affairs in Dubai, said pharmacies had been reminded that Tamiflu should be sold only on prescription. “We have to protect the stocks that we have now and we cannot allow people’s panic to eat through our supplies,” he said.
“There is no reason for people to panic, the UAE is safe.” Pharmacies are selling a box of Tamiflu with 10 tablets meant to last five days for around AED180. New stocks of Tamiflu and face masks are expected in a week, the pharmacist said. Al-Marzouki said Dubai alone has one million Tamiflu capsules, imported four years ago.
“The reason I want to buy Tamiflu is because I’ll be traveling to New York in two days and I’m worried about the situation there,” said a French businessman based in Dubai.
