New Zealand’s drug buying agency Pharmac will place limits on the amount of paracetamol the public will be able to access through health professionals.

A person takes some paracetamol.

The dispensing limits will start on Monday after Pharmac was advised that international manufacturing sites for the active ingredient for paracetamol have been closed due to quarantine and other restrictions connected with Covid-19.

The main site for the raw materials for paracetamol is in China.

“With the outbreak of Covid-19, it’s inevitable that there will be disruptions to supply chains and the first we are seeing of this is paracetamol” says PHARMAC’s director of operations Lisa Williams.

The limits are only in place for paracetamol prescribed by a health professional and do not include that which can be purchased over the counter from pharmacies or supermarkets.

Dispensing arrangements will now follow a monthly cycle rather than three monthly, Pharmac says.

Pharmac says there is currently enough stock in New Zealand to meet four months of demand.

Paracetamol is an important funded medicine for many people in New Zealand, over 365 million funded tablets are dispensed each year.