Tamiflu shortage reported at Walgreens
Surging flu season has medicine in short supply
The recent spike in flu cases around the Bay Area and California is not only crowding hospital emergency rooms with flu patients, it’s also leading to more demand for flu shots and antiviral medications to treat the virus.
That means some drug stores around the region, such as Walgreens, are reporting a limited supply of Tamiflu, said company spokesman Scott Goldberg.
“We recommend customers call ahead to confirm availability of Tamiflu,” Goldberg said in an email.
At CVS, spokeswoman Amy Lanctot said the chain did not have a widespread shortage of either Tamiflu or the flu vaccine, “but there may be instances when an individual pharmacy could be temporarily out-of-stock.”
Tamiflu not only treats flu symptoms, it can shorten how long you’re sick. But in order to work, pharmacists say, the prescription drug must be taken within 48 hours of the onset of flu symptoms, which could include some or all of these symptoms: fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, muscle or body aches and headaches.
Most health insurance plans cover the cost of the five-day course of treatment. Without insurance, however, Walgreens charges about $192, or $107 for the generic version.
While the 2017-2018 flu season is surging early, it’s difficult at this point to tell if it’s worse than other years, said Dr. Catherine Forest, a family medicine physician at Stanford Health Care,
One thing is certain: “The predominant (flu) strain is more likely to cause unimmunized people to be very ill,” said Forest, adding that it’s never too late to get the flu vaccine if you have not already.
Even though experts say this year’s vaccine may be only 10 percent effective against a dominant strain of the virus circulating the planet, Forest and other public health experts emphasize that some protection is better than nothing.
And if you are already sick, Forest said, stay home, wash your hands in soapy water more often, and cough into your clothing, not your hands.
On Friday, California public health officials confirmed 27 people under age 65 have died from the flu since October 1, including four people in Santa Clara County and one person in Monterey County.