'Medicine Stockpiling' Spreads in China Following Eased Quarantine Measures

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Eunju Lee] As China relaxes its quarantine measures, the trend of hoarding medicines is spreading within the country.

According to Chinese media Caixin on the 6th, there is a shortage of medicines such as antipyretics and anti-inflammatory drugs at pharmacies in Beijing and some other regions. The Chinese state-run media Global Times reported that sales of cold medicine and anti-inflammatory drugs at an online pharmaceutical shopping mall have recently surged nearly 20 times.

As the hoarding of medicines occurs, prices of related medicines are soaring at some pharmacies. According to local media Hongsheng Capital, the selling price of the traditional Chinese medicine 'Lianhua Qingwen' has recently surged up to 240%. The previous price was only 30 yuan (about 5,700 won), but it rose to 102 yuan (19,000 won). Earlier, Chinese state media reported that Lianhua Qingwen, used as a flu treatment in traditional Chinese medicine, has proven effective in treating COVID-19.

This is analyzed to be the effect of the Chinese authorities implementing relaxed COVID-19 quarantine measures since last month. Following the announcement of the "20 Optimized Quarantine Measures" by the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee, China's highest leadership, on the 11th of last month, quarantine authorities have recently issued a series of relaxation measures. With the lifting of sales restrictions on cold medicines such as antipyretics and anti-inflammatory drugs, Chinese citizens feeling anxious appear to have started hoarding medicines.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.