Cold and flu medicine warning issued by pharmacy chiefs

As reported by The Independent, leaders warned that ‘the very basic’ supplies were in shortage

Chief executive Leyla Hannbeck said that pharmacists were “struggling to obtain the very basic, most common cold and flu medicine.”

It comes after the UK Health Security Agency warned that winter illnesses including flu and Covid-19 continue to circulate at “high levels”.

As a result, officials urged people to keep children with a fever off school and urged unwell adults to wear face masks to stem the spread of infections.

The association said that the latest shortages – which come off the back of supply issues with antibiotics and HRT last year – show there were issues with the supply chain and suggested that a ‘lack of planning’ from government officials was to blame.

Chief executive Leyla Hannbeck said that pharmacists were constantly “trouble shooting”.

“Pharmacists are struggling to obtain the very basic, most common cold and flu medicine,” she said.

“This isn’t just the branded medicines, it is also simple things like throat lozenges, cough mixtures or pain killers – particularly the ones that are soluble.

“The demand has been high because this season we’ve seen higher cases of colds and flu and people are obviously trying very hard to look after themselves and making sure that they use the relevant products to manage the symptoms.

“And that has led to a shortage of these products in terms of us not being able to obtain them.”