冠状病毒如何影响美国的药品供应

冠状病毒如何影响美国的药品供应

The coronavirus outbreak is causing businesses, health officials and patients to worry about potential shortages of prescription drugs.

冠状病毒的爆发导致企业、卫生官员和患者担心处方药可能出现短缺。

That's because the vast majority of active ingredients in medicines dispensed in the U.S. are made in factories overseas, many in China.

这是因为在美国销售的药品中绝大多数的主要成分是在海外工厂生产的，其中很多是在中国。

On March 3. we emailed facilities registered with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to ask what products they manufacture, how the outbreak was affecting their work and how they were coping.

3月3日，我们给在美国食品和药物管理局注册的机构发了邮件，询问他们生产什么产品，疫情如何影响他们的工作，以及他们如何应对。

The facilities make a wide range of pharmaceuticals and some also make other health-related products, including nasal strips and agricultural insecticides.

这些工厂生产多种药品，有些还生产其他与健康相关的产品，包括鼻贴和农业杀虫剂。

So far, the serious supply disruptions many have feared haven't come to pass. Many facilities are back online after production interruptions related to the coronavirus response.

到目前为止，许多人担心的严重供应中断还没有发生。在由于冠状病毒反应而导致生产中断后，许多工厂恢复了生产。

Still, even facilities that are almost back to normal are anticipating a second wave of setbacks.

不过，即便是那些几乎恢复正常的设施，也面临着第二波的挫折。

"A lot of our suppliers still are not answering phones because they can't get to work or their site isn't open," says Elut Hsu, president of Morrisville, N.C.-based Asymchem, Inc., which has eight facilities in northeast China that manufacture drugs and drug ingredients. Asymchem is a contract manufacturer whose ingredients go into antibiotics, oncology drugs and antivirals sold by other companies.

总部位于北卡罗来纳州莫里斯维尔的Asymchem，Inc.在中国东北部有八家生产药品和药物成分的工厂，该公司总裁艾瑞特•许说：“我们的很多供应商仍然不接电话，因为他们无法上班，或者他们的网站不开放。”。Asymchem是一家合同制造商，其成分用于其他公司销售的抗生素、肿瘤药物和抗病毒药物。

Some projects had no interruptions, and others were delayed about four weeks, she says. That kind of delay usually isn't enough to prompt a shortage.

她说，有些项目没有中断，有些则被推迟了大约四周。这种延迟通常不足以导致短缺。

Many manufacturers are taking extra precautions to avoid the virus. Some people tell NPR they're required to eat meals alone, wear masks to work, and have their temperatures checked once a day or more. They also avoid gatherings like meetings.

许多制造商正在采取额外的预防措施以避免病毒。一些人告诉美国国家公共电台(NPR)，他们被要求独自吃饭，戴口罩去上班，每天检查一次体温或更多。他们也避免像开会一样的聚会。

"At this stage, most of the companies seem to be largely in operation," says Benjamin England, a consultant and attorney. "We're not at least hearing of there being continued delay or restrictions with respect to production. And that's true on the medical device side, too."

“在这个阶段，大多数公司似乎基本上都在运营，”顾问和律师本杰明·英格兰说，他说:“我们至少没有听到有关生产继续推迟或限制的消息。在医疗设备方面也是如此。”

Several U.S. drugmakers, including Pfizer and Mylan, have told their investors that the virus could harm their ability to manufacture products or get supplies to do so.

包括辉瑞和迈兰在内的几家美国制药商已经告诉他们的投资者，这种病毒可能会损害它们生产产品或获得供应的能力。

Still, any drug shortages caused by coronavirus manufacturing disruptions probably won't appear immediately or all at once, Fox says.

不过，福克斯说，由冠状病毒生产中断造成的任何药品短缺可能不会立即或同时出现。