After drastic delivery bottlenecks, the Free State introduced medicines that were not allowed in Germany. Health Minister Holetschek assures that no experiments are being carried out on children’s health.
To combat the drastic shortage of antibiotic juices for children, the first deliveries of medicines that are not approved in Germany have arrived in Bavaria. “We’re not doing any experiments with children’s health!” Stressed Bavaria’s Health Minister Klaus Holetschek (CSU) when he attended a delivery in a Dachau pharmacy on Thursday. “This is about the import of antibiotic juices, which are not approved in Germany – but can be legally marketed in the country from which they are imported.”
Children are prescribed antibiotics for potentially life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia or other serious bacterial infections. Since small children in particular cannot swallow tablets, these are usually administered as juice. According to the professional association of paediatricians (BVKJ), these preparations are currently so scarce nationwide that not enough antibiotics are available even for seriously ill children.
The federal government has therefore already officially identified a “supply shortage”. This means that the state authorities can now temporarily deviate from the requirements of the Medicines Act. Since May 3, pharmacies and drug wholesalers in Bavaria have been allowed to import juices containing antibiotics for children, even if they are not approved or registered in this country.