Medicines Australia (MA) is advising that Australia has sufficient supplies of medicines and are strongly discouraging the stockpiling or panic buying of medicines. It’s important that people, including those living with a rare disease, only obtain the medicines they immediately require.
MA has encouraged pharmacists and GPs to help manage the supply of medicines and support the Government’s purchasing limits on selected medicines. Useful links for more information:
COVID-19 limits on dispensing and sales at pharmacies
Limits on dispensing and sales of prescription and over-the-counter medicines
TGA cautions against over-buying medicines
There are certain medicines deemed critical by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) and MA. If there was no availability or if there was an interruption to treatment, this could result in significant health impacts. The other scenario being anticipated is an increased demand of some medicines due to COVID-19. See this list, published on the TGA website — other medicines may be added over time.
