New way to map the spread of omicrons: the sale of cough drops

Sales of medicinal lozenges and gargles, cough suppressants and over-the-counter pain relievers drugs According to manufacturers and sellers, the supply of products around the world has become so overwhelming that there is often a short supply. This trend has also appeared in countries where official testing numbers show that active cases are falling.

This can make supermarket and pharmacy sales of non-prescription remedies a useful indicator. covid-19 infection As governments around the world slash testing, citing high costs and plans to “live with Covid”.

Many countries will need to ask, “Are there alternative forms of surveillance that can be used to give us better insight into unknown infections?” Alex Cook, deputy dean of research at the National University of Singapore’s Saw Swee Hawk School of the Public, said. Health. “Over-the-counter sales are one way we can do this.”

Singapore and other countries have begun to switch to less strict reporting and isolation standards that are often based on antigen rapid test results, which are less sensitive than their PCR peers. Britain will also significantly reduce the supply of free test kits from April.

The increase in sales of cough drops is due to three factors: the easing of restrictions and a return to normal socialization, the global boom in the highly infectious omicron different, and its symptoms are more similar to those of the traditional cold or flu than those of earlier strains.

Where earlier coronavirus waves caused unusual effects such as loss of smell and extreme shortness of breath, health services say common omicron symptoms include sore throat, headache and cough, which were relieved through store-bought remedies. May go.

“With the removal of masks and social distancing measures, products go back to pre-pandemic levels relatively quickly,” said Sacha Ernst, Asia President, Inova Pharmaceuticals. And duro-tus throughout the region. “But Omicron is really tops.”

Ernst said that in February, pan-Asian sales of throat products — such as lozenges and gargles — were 2.5 times higher than a year earlier. Before the pandemic began, Singapore sales grew 3.7x and were up 22% from February 2019.

The consumer-health giant is benefiting. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Carr said last month that Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc’s over-the-counter sales rose 40% in the fourth quarter amid a “positive start” to the northern cold and flu season.

additional order

Ernst said sales of many cold and flu medicines actually fell during the pandemic because social distancing reduced people’s exposure to both Covid-19 and the more common bug. But as Omicron grew in Africa, Europe and Australia in December, so did demand in those markets.

It initiated additional orders from manufacturers in preparation for global expansion. But deliveries often take months, with shortages reported from the US to Singapore since late 2021.

To be sure, the sale of cough drops cannot replace scientific methods of monitoring for the presence of the virus, such as sewage surveillance, and the emergence of another type has prompted governments to roll back mass testing. can be forced.

For now, Omicron’s dominance is bringing windfall gains for sellers. Many customers are buying high-potency treatment products instead of confectionery, and sales increase even in the summer or without the traditional cold weather, Ernst said.

“It is highly correlated to be associated with the common cold and flu,” Ernst said.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.