With CDC data forecasting an early flu season "increasing in most of the country" and flu shot uptake lower than normal, pharmacies may be caught unprepared.
Although it is early in the season, the number of filled prescriptions for oseltamivir, a flu antiviral medication, are already higher than the same time last year. That trend stretches back to 2013, according to GoodRx estimates.
The FDA has not listed any shortages of flu antivirals, but an infectious disease specialist at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann in Houston said pharmacies could be caught "off guard" by the potential early surge, according to Today.
"I believe it's not a real problem of supply, but a problem of ordering and logistics. … Most pharmacies were expecting to order their stock later in the season, and this is catching them off guard," Luis Ostrosky, MD, an infectious disease specialist at UTHealth Houston, told Today. "Anecdotally, I've been hearing people that are having trouble getting the antivirals in the drugstore, or sometimes they're offered the brand name instead of the generic, which seems to be more available."
A pharmacist in Austin told NBC affiliate KXAN the COVID-19 pandemic reduced flu rates because of social distancing and masking practices, but the 2022 flu season is showing signs of pre-pandemic levels.