Scientific Uncertainty and Guarantee of Supply of Medicines and Healthcare Products during the Crisis Caused by the SARS-CoV-2 in Spain.

ABSTRACT

The pandemic caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has created a climate of uncertainty. The application of the precautionary principle is therefore justified for some of the measures taken by the competent authorities. In Spain, these measures have been aimed, on the one hand, at stopping its spread by means of a state of alarm for the restriction of daily activities. On the other hand, they aimed at recommending the most appropriate treatment according to scientific research developments, as well as containment measures based on the use of health care products. These latest measures have led to an extraordinary increase in the use of medicines and health care products, which compromises their supply. Thus, authorities were forced to regulate certain actions in the legal supply chain of medicines and healthcare products, such as procurement and dispensing.