Pharmac is reassuring the country that the United States can't stop us from accessing medications.Â
The drug Remdesivir is shown to help people recover from Covid-19. However, yesterday the US bought up three months of its global supply, preventing other country's from being able to access it.Â
The drug isn't funded in New Zealand, but Pharmac's Director of Operations claims we don't need it.Â
Lisa Williams told Heather Du Plessis Allan Pharmac does take action to insure medication continuity.
"We have agreements with the suppliers, and they are required to keep a good stock of medicine in the country so we have access to it."Â
She says that when it comes to new medicines, it might be a different story.Â
When it comes to a vaccine, Williams says that the Government has set up a Covid-19 taskforce featuring key medical players. A key arm of the taskforce is to see what New Zealand can contribute towards research, development or manufacturing of a vaccine, as well as setting up equitable access to the vaccine.Â
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