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Norway is experiencing a constant shortage of a variant of the drug dexamethasone, which is used to treat COVID-19. Steinar Madsen, medical director of the Norwegian Medicines Agency, is not satisfied.
– We have a shortage of some strengths of the tablets, but we do not have a total shortage of the drug. This means that we can treat patients who are undergoing treatment. At the same time, we wish we had seen that we had more secure supplies, Madsen tells Dagbladet and continues:
– We do not like that there is a shortage situation like the one we see today. This medicine comes in tablet form and can be given through a vein. It is a drug used to treat patients with many different and, in some cases, serious diseases.
Possible cause
In June, subject director Frode Forland of the National Institute of Public Health said he did not think we would experience a supply problem related to dexamethasone.
– I don’t think we could have a supply problem associated with this drug. It is easily accessible and there are not many seriously ill covid-19 patients in Norway right now, Forland said in an interview with Dagbladet.
Madsen of the Norwegian Medicines Agency points out that the increasing spread of the infection around the world may be the reason for the current dexamethasone shortage.
– It is difficult to know if the shortage situation may be related to the spread of covid-19. The drug is produced internationally, which means that sometimes we do not receive completely accurate information. But some countries are experiencing a sharp increase in the number of disease cases and it is reasonable to believe that the need is increasing because of this, says Madsen.
Promising Findings
Dexamethasone is considered one of the most promising drugs for the treatment of COVID-19. Researchers at the University of Oxford found earlier this year that treatment with the drug reduced mortality among patients on a ventilator by a third. For patients with other ventilation, mortality decreased by one fifth.
Director Frode Forland of the National Institute of Public Health was not surprised by the promising results related to dexamethasone.
– It is not surprising. Mainly, the reaction in the lung tissue, which makes Covid-19 patients seriously ill, is an overreaction in the immune system that triggers the virus. Dexamethasone has the effect of suppressing immune reactions, Forland told Dagbladet in June.
New Revelation: – Scandal
Rationing
The Norwegian Institute of Public Health also believes that three medications could possibly shorten the duration of symptoms compared to standard treatment: hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir, and lopinavir-ritonavir. At the same time, they note that hydroxychloroquine may increase the risk of side effects.
Steinar Madsen says Norway has put dexamethasone on the ration list since it became known that dexamethasone can work well in relation to the treatment of Covid-19.
– There are only two medications on that list: dexamethasone and paracetamol. These drugs are not available without a clear medical need. This was done in case we have an increased need for dexamethasone in the future.
It states that Norway has seen a modest increase in dexamethasone sales in recent months and that larger warehouses are to be built.
– When we get into situations of scarcity, we take advantage of all the opportunities we have to ensure a better supply of drugs.
