More Special Deliveries if Swine Flue Spreads

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Pharmacy giant starts selling Tamiflu online 'in advance of need'

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Lloydspharmacy has begun selling Tamiflu through its online pharmacy to people who do not have swine flu ‘but wish to prepare for when they might have it’.

From today, customers can buy packs of 10 x 75mg Tamiflu via Lloydpharmacy’s Online Doctor service at a cost of £48.50 plus postage and packing at £4.95. The packs will be dispatched using Royal Mail Special Delivery and arrive the next working day.

Launching the scheme on its website, Lloydspharmacy said: ‘This postal service is for people who do not yet have swine flu but wish to prepare for when they might have it, or for when they come into close contact with someone who is confirmed as having swine flu.’

Patients who are diagnosed with swine flu after contacting the National Pandemic Flu Service can receive the drug for free.

Andy Murdock, Governance and Pharmacy Relations Director of Lloydspharmacy, said: ‘We are playing as full a role as possible in the distribution of Tamiflu to NHS patients, buit it is clear that there is a significant demand for private prescriptions of the drug.’

‘We have decided to become the first recognised healthcare brand to sell Tamiflu in advance of need so that people who want to buy the treatment can get it from a reputable online source.’

‘In the information sent out with every Tamiflu order our doctors will explain the symptoms people should look out for and the circumstances under which they should begin treatment.’

Yesterday Pulse revealed that GPs are reporting a steady stream of patients showing up at surgeries with suspected adverse reactions to Tamiflu, which include nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. The MHRA said it had received 150 reports of suspected adverse reactions to Tamiflu treatment for swine flu as of July 23.

[POSTMAN]

So we got to get the sig at arms length then.