WOONSOCKET – CVS Caremark Corp. and its top rival, Walgreen Co., are bracing their retail pharmacies for a crush of customers seeking medication and hygiene products as fears of swine flu spread across the continent.
Woonsocket-based CVS has ordered additional supplies of the antiviral drug Tamiflu for its New York City locations, where the first American outbreak of swine flu was reported over the weekend, CVS spokesman Michael DeAngelis told Bloomberg News.
Rhode Island's Market Has Changed. Developers, Builders, Investors and Sellers Must Change With It.
By Emilio DiSpirito IV License Partner | Engel & Völkers Oceanside Leader | The DiSpirito…
Learn More
“Since the outbreak, we’ve seen a marked increase in prescriptions for Tamiflu in the New York area,” DeAngelis said, although he added that there has been no significant increase in demand for personal hygiene items at the pharmacy chain’s 6,900 locations nationwide.
Walgreen spokesman Michael Polzin told Bloomberg his company’s purchasing managers have been meeting with suppliers to deal with an anticipated rise in demand for products.
“Drug stores will be on the front lines for distribution of anti-viral medications used to fight swine flu,” Adam Fein, president of Philadelphia-based Pembroke Consulting, which advises drug makers on distribution strategies, told Bloomberg.
As of noon Monday, there were 40 confirmed cases of swine flu in the U.S. but no deaths, The Associated Press reported. In Mexico, where the outbreak began, there have been approximately 1,600 infections and as many as 149 deaths. Six people in Canada are also thought to have contracted the disease.
President Barack Obama tried to tamp down fears today while speaking at the National Academy of Sciences, saying the outbreak is “obviously the cause for concern and requires a heightened state of alert, but it’s not a cause for alarm,” The New York Times reported.
Obama’s remarks came as the European Union’s health commissioner today warned Europeans not to travel to the United States or Mexico “unless it is very urgent for them.” Spain confirmed its first case of the virus today.
