US antibiotic shortage could grow by 'leaps and bounds' as China shifts from 'Zero COVID': Dr. Marc Siegel
Dr. Marc Siegel tells Tucker Carlson about the implications China's move away from its 'Zero COVID' policy could have on existing supply chain issues.
Fox News medical contributor Dr. Marc Siegel gave viewers a dismal message on the state of ongoing medical supply chain issues, including critical shortages of the drugs amoxicillin, Adderall and acetaminophen after China brought its controversial ‘Zero COVID’ policy to a halt.
"We never believed ‘COVID Zero,’ hyperventilating over a virus, was going to work because, what happens? It spreads anyway. Then you pull back and the immune system is groggy and all kinds of other viruses occur. I think the population in China figured that out because they're rushing to stores to get Tylenol and acetaminophen," he told Fox News anchor Tucker Carlson on Tuesday.
Siegel's comments follow footage depicting Chinese citizens lining up outside factories, eager to buy the drug directly from manufacturers as the country faces a shortage.
AMOXICILLIN PRESCRIBED FOR CHILDREN IS IN SHORT SUPPLY, FDA SAYS
But evidence of increased demand in China could soon wreak havoc on U.S. supply lines, Siegel warned.
Amoxicillin penicillin antibiotics are seen in the pharmacy at a free medical and dental health clinic in Los Angeles (Reuters)
"There is one thing we can believe about China – they have a chokehold on our supply line," he said, adding that an alarming percentage of basic medicines found in the U.S. are provided by Chinese suppliers.
"Almost all of [these drugs] come from China – diabetes drugs, stomach medications, steroids, antibiotics… 95% of the ibuprofen imported into the United States comes from China [and] 70% of the acetaminophen…"
GOP DOCTOR LAWMARKERS WARN AMOXICILLIN SHORTAGE UNDER BIDEN COULD ‘DEVASTATE' HEALTHCARE SYSTEM
A woman in a protective suit stands on a street during lockdown, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Shanghai, China, May 26, 2022. (REUTERS/Aly Song)
"If you think that them rushing to pharmacies over there is not going to impact us over here, you've got another thing coming."
Siegel added that the existing U.S. shortage of ibuprofen can expect to grow by "leaps and bounds" because of increased demand from Chinese citizens.
Epidemiologist and renowned health expert Dr. Eric Feigl-Ding tweeted about the urgent demand for ibuprofen in China on Tuesday, writing, "Shortages of basic ibuprofen is getting extreme in China too. It is sold out in stores— people are now directly going to the factories of the ibuprofen manufacturers— waiting in long lines to buy them. If China has shortage, the rest of the world will have shortages."
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In a tweet further down in the thread, he echoed Siegel's warning of shockwaves to come in supply lines across the West.
"Westerns think there is a fever and antibiotic shortage now? Wait until China’s production is diverted from exports! Here—people rushed to a pharmaceutical factory to buy ibuprofen because it is completely sold out elsewhere!"
Feigl-Ding also stressed that "what happens in China doesn't stay in China."
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) added powdered Amoxicillin to its list of drugs experiencing supply shortages on Oct. 28 while the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists added the capsule, tablet and liquid forms to its shortage list - leaving parents scrambling for the medicine commonly prescribed for children.
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Fox News' Christine Rousselle contributed to this report.
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