The Health Ministry of Ukraine has cancelled its decree No.785 of October 30 "On the obligatory minimum list of medicines and medical products for drugstores for the period of the epidemic of А/H1N1 flu."
According to Health Ministry decree No.875 of November 26, the department for regulatory policy for the medicines trade, together with the state inspectorate of medicine quality, must by December 4 draw up a draft regulatory act on an obligatory list of medical products that must be stocked in drugstores.
As reported, demand for antiviral and anti-flu medicines grew sharply as a result of panic in Ukraine at the end of October through early November due to the epidemic of flu, and this led to shortages of medicines in drugstores.
At the end of October, the Health Ministry included Oseltamivir (Tamiflu) on the minimum obligatory list of medicines, which also includes the antiviral medicines Amizon, Arbidol, Paracetamol, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).
