Romanian exports of medicines  temporarily on hold

Romania temporarily suspends the intracommunity distribution of some antibiotics and antipyretic medicines, against the background of the current epidemiological situation

Daniela Budu, 20.01.2023, 14:00

Romania obtained from the European Commission the right to temporarily suspend the distribution outside the country of certain drugs in the category of oral antibiotics and antipyretics, considering the current epidemiological context and the lack of some drugs on the market. The representatives of the Ministry of Health have explained that the measure will be applied for a period of three months and is intended to ensure the continuity of the availability of these products for the Romanian patients

The medicines that will no longer be able to be distributed abroad, for a short period of time, are ibuprofen and paracetamol for pediatric use or amoxicillin. The health authorities say that the measure does not affect the export of medicines manufactured by Romanian manufacturers, it only puts on hold the intra-Community distribution of medicines allocated to the Romanian market. The line minister, Alexandru Rafila, says that the decision was taken to avoid a crisis in Romania, because there are countries in Europe where these products are no longer available.

Health Minister Alexandru Rafila:

There are no problems and we want to make sure that we will have enough medicines in the next period as well. Of course, they are not necessarily certain brands that we are used to, but that does not mean that there is no similar medicine, with exactly the same composition and exactly the same therapeutic effect. And we, the Ministry of Health, are responsible for doing everything necessary so that people have access to medicines. One doesn’t necessarily need to take strawberry flavored syrup; if there is a pediatric syrup or pediatric suppositories that contain ibuprofen or paracetamol, they are just as good.

In recent weeks, doctors and patients throughout the country have repeatedly complained about the lack of medicines on the market. Romania is, at this moment, at the top of the wave of respiratory infections this season, and family doctors and those working in emergency units have to deal with a wave of illnesses. People seeing a doctor these days usually have respiratory infections, flu, pneumonia or, in some cases, are infected with several viruses at the same time, including Sars-CoV-2.

The cases are also numerous among children, the number of respiratory infections increasing significantly in the first week after the start of school.In the meantime, doctors draw attention to the fact that the well-known preventive measures from the pandemic period must still be followed: wearing protective masks, avoiding crowds, ventilating collective spaces and home isolation when the first symptoms of the disease are felt. Vaccination against the flu is still recommended by specialists. Doctors estimate that the flu season could be extended until spring, and the number of respiratory infections will start to decrease only from next month, according to the forecast of the National Institute of Public Health.