WHO warns about shortages of antibiotics

Lisa Hedman, a World Health Organization (WHO) group leader for supply and access to medicines, has said that COVID-19 constraints’ removal had led to a surge in bacterial infections which was then followed by a shortage of antibiotic drugs such as penicillin and amoxicillin.

Of the 35 countries whose data is collected by the WHO, 80 per cent have an acute shortage of penicillin-related antibiotics, The Financial Times quotes Hedman as saying.

She cited as an example the US and Canada, which experience amoxicillin shortages, while in the European Union (EU) 25 out of 27 member states reported scarce supplies of some antibiotics to the European Medicines Agency.

“The impact in poorer or smaller countries is less well known but they can be disproportionately affected, especially if their currencies have depreciated and they need to procure drugs on the open market,” said Hedman.

According to health experts, during the pandemic, lower demand for antibiotics, combined with severe strain on supply chains, forced drugmakers to cut production. But as many countries experience their first winter with no restrictions in two years, they said, supply pressures and regulatory requirements are making it hard for companies to scale up and ease the shortages.