The U.S. Dips into the Strategic National Stockpile for Flu Medicine

As patients with the flu flock to doctors’ offices and hospitals around the nation, the Biden administration has decided to take action. 

According to ABC News, the flu season came early this year and combined with surges of COVID-19 and RSV, or respiratory syncytial virus, over-the-counter pain relievers and medicines are hard to find. 

CVS and Walgreens announced on Monday that a two-item and six-item limit would be implemented in stores and online for children’s medicine. 

Now, on Wednesday, the Biden administration announced that it will release prescriptions of Tamiflu from the Strategic National Stockpile. 

“States will be able to request doses of the prescription flu medication Tamiflu kept in the Strategic National Stockpile from HHS. The administration is not releasing how many doses will be made available. Antiviral medications were released from the stockpile more than a decade ago during the H1N1, also known as swine flu, pandemic,” ABC News reported. 

Children’s medicine producer, Johnson & Johnson, has reportedly been running production lines around the clock to meet the demands and keep medicine stocked in stores, per ABC News.