China’s healthcare system was unprepared for the Chinese Communist Party’s drastic change in its COVID-19 policy, resulting in widespread drug shortages and soaring prices.
At present, Meilin (ibuprofen suspension) is not available in offline stores in Beijing. Citizens in need contact multiple parties and seek to buy it everywhere.
At the gate of Tianjin Children’s Hospital, a bottle of Meilin, originally priced at about 20 yuan ($2.8), is even being sold for 2,500 to 3,000 yuan ($350-420).
On social media platforms, mothers from the cities of Qingdao, Taizhou, and Kunshan are all seeking to buy Meilin.
Ibuprofen, an over-the-counter antibiotic recommended by the authorities for self-treatment of infections at home, is being snapped up by Chinese people.
Medicines Strictly Regulated Before Lift of Lockdowns
During the three years under the regime’s “Zero-COVID” policy, the sale of fever reducers, cough medicine, and other cold medicines in China were tightly regulated, with people having to register their names when purchasing. Information about the purchasers was passed to their street or community-level management offices so that administrators could monitor potential patients for nucleic acid testing or antigen testing.Under such circumstances, many Chinese families did not buy and stock up on fever reducers.
“Pharmacies didn’t sell much in the way of cold and fever medicines during the lockdown, but now the lockdown is lifted, [we] have to buy medicines just in case,” Li Li (pseudonym), a Tianjin resident, told The Epoch Times on Dec. 21
“Pharmacies don’t have any medicines now, and the vaccine didn’t work either. I have a fever now. Everyone around me has been infected,” she said.
“I don’t know what the government thought would happen when they suddenly lifted the lockdown,” she said. “No one can be seen on the street now. No one is coming out. Almost 90 percent of people are infected.”
Zhang Tie (pseudonym) from Jilin City echoed how medicines are lacking.
“All the medicines to relieve fever, pain, and cough are basically sold out now in pharmacies,” he told The Epoch Times. “Although I took the medicine, I still have a fever, pain, and a cough. It didn’t help.”
Wen said that China is the world’s largest producer and exporter of the fever-reducer ibuprofen, accounting for one-third of the global production. While the United States and Western countries are sourcing raw materials from China, Chinese people are failing to buy medicine.
Wen analyzed that with China’s production capacity, the demand can be relieved in a week or two, but medicines are out of stock across China now because workers in the drug production line and logistics are all infected and have taken sick leave.
The reduction of medicine production and distribution has compounded the problems faced by the Chinese public, all resulting from the regime’s U-turn on its zero COVID policy, Wen said.
An insider from a company that produces these four kinds of drugs told Saibailan that in the past few years, the sale of these drugs has been strictly controlled, so “patients basically did not stock up on the drugs.”
The insider said the policy was relaxed in November, but drug companies did not receive clear information. Regulations on these four kinds of drugs are not relaxed in all provinces, the insider said, adding that drug companies are struggling with their inventory.
The surge in demand has resulted in soaring price rises of pharmaceutical raw materials.
The purchase prices of Chinese herbs such as fructus forsythiae, isatis root, and folium isatidis vary every half day. The prices of many chemical raw materials for the four kinds of drugs vary every two to three hours, and amoxicillin’s raw materials are out of stock, the insider said.
