Experts Claim That Tamiflu needed without prescription (Mar. 4, 2006)

Some experts in the epidemic and pharmaceutical industry began speaking out against the policy of making the Tamiflu drug available only by prescription claiming that it would be useless in fighting a bird flu pandemic.

One expert said that Tamiflu must be taken within six to 12 hours of the appearance of bird flu symptoms. Waiting to see a doctor and get a prescription could render the drug ineffective, he said.

These experts plainly say the policy was "stupid," and that some government's refusal to change it was "a scandal." experts claim that  certain governments had huge amounts of millions of doses of Tamiflu stockpiled, and in some countries the stock piles are not big enough to cover the number of people expected to be infected with bird flu in Australia if there were a local pandemic. He said Tamiflu should be available in every pharmacy in the country without a prescription, and that every pharmacist should have a rapid diagnostic kit that could diagnose bird flu in 15 to 20 minutes.