ISLAMABAD : Paracetamol is not available in many Pakistani pharmacies and is believed to be sold on the black market, DAWN reported.
An official with the Drugs Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (Drap) attributed the shortage of paracetamol, the drug most commonly prescribed to COVID patients, to the rising number of dengue fever cases and subsequent demand for the painkiller, reported the newspaper.
Drap on Tuesday issued show cause notices to 15 pharmaceutical companies for not manufacturing paracetamol, despite their licenses.
Meanwhile, Pakistan is currently facing the fifth wave of COVID and the number of active cases across the country has crossed the 100,000 mark.
Pakistan’s national positivity rate is 9.65% and the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) has recorded 32 deaths across the country in the past 24 hours.
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