An unprecedented wave of Covid cases in China has sparked panic buying of anti-fever drugs, painkillers and even home remedies like canned peaches, leading to shortages online and in stores.
Authorities said on Wednesday they had identified 2,249 symptomatic Covid-19 cases nationwide through nucleic acid testing, 20% of which were traced to the capital Beijing. According to a CNN report from the city, the number of cases in the Chinese capital may be much higher than recorded.
Demand for fever and cold medications such as Tylenol and Advil is rising nationwide as people rush to stock up on medicine amid fears they could contract the virus.
Canned yellow peaches, considered a highly nutritious delicacy in many parts of China, have been seized upon by people looking for ways to combat Covid. The product is sold out in many online stores.
Its sudden rise in popularity prompted Dalian Leasun Food, one of the country’s largest canned food manufacturers, to clarify in a Weibo post that canned yellow peaches have no medicinal effect.
“Canned yellow peaches ≠ medicine!” the company said in a post published on Friday. “There is enough supply, so there is no need to panic. There is no rush to buy.”
The People’s Daily, the mouthpiece of the Communist Party, also tried to set the record straight. He published a long post on Weibo on Sunday urging the public not to store the peaches, calling them “useless for alleviating the symptoms of the disease.”
Authorities also urged the public not to stockpile medical supplies. On Monday, the Beijing city government warned residents that it faces “great pressure” to meet demand for drugs and medical services due to panic buying and an influx of patients to clinics.
He urged the public not to stockpile drugs or call emergency services if they have no symptoms.
Rising demand and a lack of supply of Covid drugs have fueled bets on pharmacists.
Shares in Hong Kong-listed Xinhua Pharmaceutical, China’s biggest ibuprofen maker, have risen 60% in the past five days. The stock has so far jumped 147% in the first two weeks of this month.
“Our company’s production lines are operating at full capacity and we are working overtime to produce urgently needed medicines such as ibuprofen tablets,” Xinhua Pharmaceutical said on Monday.
Ibuprofen is an anti-inflammatory drug used to treat pain and fever. It is also known as Advil, Brufen or Fenbid.
Drug shortages have spread from mainland China to Hong Kong, a special administrative region with a separate system of local government. On Sunday, the city’s health chief urged the public to refrain from panic buying cold medicine they don’t need and urged residents “not to overdo it.”
In some Hong Kong pharmacies, antipyretics such as Panadol, the local brand of Tylenol, have sold out. Most of the buyers were sending the drugs to their families and friends on the mainland, sales representatives told CNN.
Shares of Shenzhen-listed Guizhou Bailing Group Pharmaceuticals, known for making cough syrup, have gained 21% this week and are up 51% so far this month. Yiling Pharmaceutical, the sole producer of Lianhua Qingwen, a traditional Chinese medicine recommended by the government to treat Covid, has also jumped more than 30% in the past month.
Even funeral service and burial plot providers have received a huge boost. Shares in Hong Kong-listed Fu Shou Yuan International, China’s largest funeral services company, have risen more than 50 percent since last month.
There is “strong dormant demand for burial plots” in 2023, analysts from Citi Group said in a recent research report, adding that they have seen growing investor interest in the sector.
They reported the existence of hundreds of thousands of cremated remains, which are being temporarily stored in government facilities awaiting burial. Lockdowns across much of the country have halted funeral services, they said.
