When people come down with the flu, they want relief. Tamiflu could give them that, if they can get ahold of it.
Tamiflu is on backorder at the wholesaler Physicians Family Pharmacy on Lake Worth Road uses. That wholesaler won’t get the next batch of Tamiflu in until February 2.
"We’ve seen so many patients come in here that we had to turn away because there is a shortage," said Angelita Nicolas, owner and operator of Physicians Family Pharmacy in Greenacres.
The pharmacy ran out of the anti-viral drug last Wednesday.
“It is very frustrating because actually the patients are not able to come in. They’ll send a family member or friend," Nicolas said. "We also have been getting phone calls."
“It’s not the first time I’ve seen Tamiflu go out of supply, but it is pretty quick this year," said Pharmacist Elsa Chopourian.
The wholesaler told Chopourian they had 2,000 units of Tamiflu on Friday, but now, those units are gone.
“It’s not that they’re limiting pharmacies," she said. "It’s just they’re getting depleted and then trying to supply pharmacies as soon as they get replenished.”
Wellington Regional Medical Center ER staff had difficulty finding Tamiflu for children within a ten-mile radius of the hospital Sunday night.
Palm Beach County Health Department said schools in the county are not seeing a widespread number of cases.