Serum Rationed in Iranian Pharmacies; Shortage “Even in Operating Rooms”
The vice president of the Pharmacists Association in Iran announced the “rationing” of serum in the country’s pharmacies due to the shortage of this therapeutic item.
Ali Fatemi, on Thursday, September 24, in an interview with ISNA news agency, while emphasizing the necessity of serum imports, stated that due to current shortages, this medication is only being distributed in “selected” and “state” pharmacies.
Mr. Fatemi further reported the daily production of 400 to 500 thousand bottles of serum proportional to the country’s needs, attributing the current shortage to the increase in seasonal and gastrointestinal diseases, and warned about increased demand following the return of “Arbaeen pilgrims.”
The vice president of the Pharmacists Association, while emphasizing “strategic drug reserves,” stated that these reserves have reached zero during the two years of the coronavirus pandemic and currently only exist in amounts equal to the country’s consumption.
In recent days, multiple reports of serum shortages in Iranian hospitals and pharmacies have been published. Among them, the Jam-e Jam newspaper reported that in some medical centers, the cost of providing serum is charged separately from patients, and approximately three to four million tomans as the cost of obtaining this medication from the black market is added to surgical operation costs.
MohammadReza Zafarghandi, former head of the Medical Organization, also on Tuesday, September 22, in a tweet criticizing the serum shortage and its rationing in most hospitals, stated: “There is no serum even for patients who need surgery.”
In response to these reports, Bahram Daraei, head of the Food and Drug Administration, while denying the news of serum shortage to the Farsnews agency, said: “This violation occurs in some private hospitals so they can reserve existing serum.”
HamidReza Inanlu, director general of drugs and controlled substances at the Food and Drug Administration, also reported daily serum imports and stated that the current shortage will be resolved “within the next two weeks.”
Criticism of serum shortages in hospitals and pharmacies across the country continues even as Bahram Einollahi, the health minister, on September 19, while expressing his views on the favorable status of medical services for “Arbaeen pilgrims,” stated that sufficient serum is available.
Source: Radio Farda
