One of the most-used influenza medicines doesn’t work well in preventing severe complications that lead to hospitalization, according to a new study. Dr. Emily McDonald and other Canadian researchers reviewed data from 15 randomized clinical trials, including eight that were conducted by the drugmaker Roche but not published. They analyzed whether the drug oseltamivir, known…

Why would you risk brain infections, psychosis, memory deterioration, and mood swings for a 10 percent improvement when you can get up to a 900 percent improvement without taking on any of these risks? STORY AT-A-GLANCE Your immune system is your first-line defense against all types of infections, be they bacterial or viral, so the…

Schools across China are closing their doors due to a surge of fever and flu-like symptoms throughout the country. Chinese authorities have insisted that the widespread outbreak is due to a strain of influenza A, while the antiviral drug Oseltamivir (available in the United States under the brand name “Tamiflu”) is sold out in many…

The Biden administration is releasing a prescription flu medication through the strategic national stockpile amid an early spread of multiple respiratory illnesses this winter. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced on Wednesday that Tamiflu will be made available to states, territories, and tribes “to respond to an increased demand for the antiviral…

A number of groups, hospitals, and doctors have issued warnings about shortages of amoxicillin, Tamiflu, albuterol, and other medications. Amoxicillin is used to treat bacterial infections including strep throat, whooping cough, and some urinary tract infections; antiviral Tamiflu is one of the most common flu medications in the United States; and albuterol is an inhaler used…

It’s been more than 20 years since Tamiflu, the first orally active neuraminidase inhibitor to prevent and treat influenza A and B, was rolled out by drugmaker Roche. Not a flu vaccine, Tamiflu (oseltamivir) blocks the flu virus’s neuraminidase protein. The medication is available only by prescription and is often prescribed for people at high…