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State surgical masks at a discounted price (61 cents, including VAT) have yet to be delivered in major cities such as Milan and Turin. But Federfarma also registers “a severe shortage of gloves and alcohol to disinfect”
by Andrea Gagliardi
3 ‘reading
Masks, alcohol, gloves, swab reagents. More than a week after the start of “phase 2” (the game started on Monday May 4) there have been serious deficiencies. Starting with the state-administered surgical medical unit, practically mandatory to deal with the subsequent blockage, which remains a mirage for many. State surgical masks at a discounted price (61 cents, including VAT) are often not found anywhere. Supplies adjust and begin, distributors almost stopped, and importers were left without sellers from abroad for too low a price for “calm” in Italy. “In almost all pharmacies where surgical masks have been delivered at a discounted price, for example in Rome, surgical masks are already finished. They have not yet been delivered to other large cities such as Milan and Turin, where they are expected to arrive at these times. Pharmacists are available for sale, but the huge amounts promised, so the latter were available in pharmacies, unfortunately did not come, “said Marco Cossolo, president of Federfarma.
Finished or locked masks
“The only ones that we are distributing are the three million that come from Civil Protection and by Tuesday (May 12, ed.) They will already be finished with a requirement of 10 million per day. We are full of requests »Antonello Mirone, President of Federfarma Servizi, National Association of Medicines and Distributors of EPP, relaunches. Criticism Rejected by the Emergency Commissioner to the Sender Domenico Arcuri for which “pharmacies do not have the masks because two distribution companies have declared the counterfeit as they do not have the 12 million masks in the stores that they claimed to have”
Distributors, meanwhile, are calling for the “release” of millions of masks seized during police checks. “Most of these are in judicial deposits, they say, only for technical objections, but they would be usable as ‘surgical’ to sell for 50 cents plus VAT.” The last hypothesis of the government in this regard is to simplify the regulations, perhaps with interventions that can be included in the Revitalization Decree. The changes would aim to simplify and speed up the process for certification of non-surgical masks, but that meet some technical requirements, and allow their use in some work areas.
Insufficient production made in Italy
The distributors in turn denounce “the lack of a supplier” that manages to import large quantities, despite the agreements. “The Italian company from Perugia, which imported masks from China, which had guaranteed us the supply of 10 million devices per week, seems that it can no longer do so,” explains Mirone. The explanation is also due to the difficulty of importing due to the “lack of palatability” of the Italian market, given the low purchase price established abroad, a factor influenced by the “popular sale” at 50 cents plus VAT. The alternative to resolve the impasse continues to be ‘Made In Italy’ production. But “the five Italian companies that have started producing the masks do not yet have the quantities available.”
Gloves and alcohol are missing
Meanwhile, however, in addition to the masks, “there is a great lack of gloves and alcohol to disinfect.” They are not found anywhere in Italian pharmacies. ” To raise the problem “found from north to south of the peninsula” is Roberto Tobia, Federfarma’s national secretary. “The price of latex or nitrile gloves has tripled or quadrupled in recent months since the Covid-19 emergency.” This, he continues, “stems from the very high purchase cost paid by the pharmacy to suppliers, due to the fact that raw materials have increased, demand has multiplied by a thousand, and inventories have ended.” The same is true for denatured alcohol, where there has been a boom in requests for surface cleaning and disinfection. According to what the regional managers of Federfarma report, it is lacking in wholesalers and, therefore, in pharmacies. “Something comes from time to time,” Tobia concludes, “but it is far from meeting the needs of the population.”
