Walmart addresses Tamiflu shortage

BENTONVILLE, Ark. Wal-Mart Stores announced that more than 4,000 Walmart and Sam's Club pharmacies nationwide will convert Tamiflu capsules into liquid in order to address a national shortage of the product.

According to the company, this process is FDA approved and will ensure Americans have greater access to the well known antiviral drug often prescribed when individuals contract influenza. The liquid form is commonly taken by children, the elderly and those with difficulty swallowing the capsule form.

Due to limited inventories and commercial supplies of Tamiflu oral suspension, the FDA approved the directions pharmacists use to compound the liquid medication from Tamiflu capsules. This provides an alternative when the commercially manufactured oral suspension formulation is not readily available.

"We want to assure families and their physicians that our team of pharmacists stands ready to meet the needs of our patients young and old," said Dr. John Agwunobi, president of Walmart's health and wellness division. "We have the medication available, and we have pharmacists skilled in compounding oral suspensions."