Chinese are stocking up on flu medicines. Know why

E-commerce sales of flu drugs have shot up over 100 times in China as people are stocking up on the medicines amid panic over the surge in infections, according to Bloomberg.

The report claimed that the sale of the medicine sold under the generic name oseltamivir has surged to about 533,100 units in the first 13 days of March on the Chinese e-commerce platforms Taobao and Tmall. The daily average volume jumped 129-fold from a year ago, data showed.

An expert quoted by Bloomberg said that people in China are buying flu medicines to avoid a repeat of Covid desperation.

According to the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, flu cases in China have been surging with the positivity rate being 42% in the week beginning March 5, up from 25% a week earlier.