Abstracts by keywords: panic buyinge
In February 2020, the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) evolved into a pandemic, with the number of Covid-19 cases increasing dramatically in many countries [1,2]. Television and newspapers reported daily on the spread of the pandemic and quickly triggered fears of an impending economic crisis and recession among the population [3]. As early as February 2020, numerous reports appeared on the Internet stating that the spread of Covid-19 was affecting the global supply of medicines as many of the medicines used worldwide are manufactured in China and India, where production has come to a standstill due to disease outbreaks [4]. The German Minister of Health feared that the Covid-19 pandemic could lead to drug shortages in Europe, although there was no concrete evidence of short-term supply shortages [5]. Reports have been published in various countries that shelf-stable foods such as flour, pasta and canned goods were quickly selling out, leading to shortages [3]. At the same time, pharmacies reported bottlenecks in the antipyretic painkiller paracetamol due to the strong demand during the corona pandemic. The demand for over-the-counter vitamin preparations was also significantly higher than usual in March [6]. So far, no studies have been published on pharmacy sales of various medicines used to treat acute and chronic diseases during the pandemic. It can be assumed that patients will buy larger quantities of medication and request more prescriptions if they fear longer quarantines. The aim of this study was to examine the development of drug purchases during the corona crisis.