Australia facing shortage of common medicines as COVID supply issues worsen

Australians are being forced to take desperate measures to track down prescription medications they need as experts warn drug supply issues are at their worst point since the pandemic began, Report informs, citing TASS.

Australia's most commonly used antidepressant, sertraline, is the latest medicine to be hit with supply issues here in Australia, with all brands, including Zoloft, affected by a global shortage.

The Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) last week issued an alert about the shortage of sertraline, which is used to treat depression and anxiety, saying supply is likely to be affected until April.

Almost 2.5 million prescriptions were filled for sertraline under the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (PBS) in the past 12 months to January, government figures show.

However, this does not include private prescriptions.

Peer-reviewed journal Australian Prescriber recently put the number of sertraline prescriptions at 4.7 million per year.

Pharmacist Chelsea Felkai, who is based in Newcastle, NSW, said as well as sertraline, there were several other common medications still caught up in supply chain issues linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.