CVS, Walgreens Ready Stores For Swine Flu Shoppers
Posted on April 26, 2009
Bloomberg reports that drugstores like CVS and Walgreens are gearing up for shoppers coming into stores to buy swine flu related products like hand sanitizers, respirators and surgical face masks.
Walgreen purchasing managers met over the weekend with suppliers to ensure the retailer can meet a surge in demand for personal-hygiene products such as hand sanitizers and face masks, said Michael Polzin, a company spokesman. CVS ordered additional doses of Roche Holding AG's antiviral drug Tamiflu for New York City, said Michael DeAngelis, a spokesman.CVS has a store near the St. Francis Preparatory School in Queens, where eight students became ill. The drug stores are taking preparatory steps as the U.S. confirms a total of 20 cases of swine flu, the virus that has sickened 1,000 people in Mexico and is linked to the deaths of more than 80.
"Since the outbreak, we've seen a marked increase in prescriptions for Tamiflu in the New York area," DeAngelis said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Bloomberg says CVS was able to fulfill a jump in Tamiflu demand.
CVS, which has 6,900 locations, was able to meet the jump in demand for Tamiflu, DeAngelis said. The retailer has more than 25 stores in the Queens area, according to its Web site. CVS hasn't seen a run on personal-hygiene products yet, he said.
Sales of these items like sanitizers and masks is likely to rise as more cases are reported. It's all happened so quickly since late Thursday that many consumers probably haven't had a chance to hit the store. Most of the U.S. cases have only been reported in the last 24 to 48 hours.
Products like the N95 Surgical Particulate Respirators which claim to "meet CDC Guidelines for Swine Flu, TB, SARS, Smallpox, and Anthrax" are also likely to sell well. FluArmour and Drugstore.com carry the N95 Surgical Particulate Respirators.