A shortage of intravenous (IV) fluid looks set to continue for at least several months, after officials on Wednesday announced that the nation’s largest producer is unlikely to resume production before next year.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found Y F Chemical Corp, which makes about 70 percent of the nation’s IV fluid, to be in violation of 63 minor, moderate or severe regulations during inspections earlier this year and ordered the firm to halt production on May 10.
Asked at a news conference on Wednesday if the company would not be permitted to resume production before the end of this year, FDA Director-General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) replied: “It seems so.”
Photo: Taipei Times
“These deficiencies must all be corrected before we allow them to resume production,” Wu said, adding that the agency would conduct another inspection after the implementation of the corrections, including a review of the company’s software, hardware, personnel training and operations.
The shutdown of Y F Chemical has already begun to place a severe strain on IV fluid supplies.
The Federation of Taiwan Pharmacists Associations on May 18 warned that major hospitals could be forced to postpone surgeries and stop admitting patients if more is not done to address the issue.
The company had been producing large-bag saline for injection at a rate equivalent to 1.96 million bags per month, based on a volume of 500cc per bag, the FDA said.
It is estimated that stocks of that type of IV fluid would run out in the middle of this month, resulting in a shortage of 1.1 million bags this month and 1.5 million bags next month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has previously said.
To address the domestic shortage of IV fluid, the FDA on May 29 initiated an emergency scheme to import saline from overseas.
The first shipment of 100,000 bags of saline from Malaysia was to arrive at the Port of Taipei on Wednesday evening, while a second shipment of 216,000 bags from Vietnam is expected to arrive tomorrow, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) said.
As shipments of saline would arrive continuously from this week, announcements would be made whenever a shipment is unloaded, Lin said.
Six local companies are also working to increase the domestic production of saline, Wu said.
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