Maltese pharmacies have registered a slight increase in requests for iodine tablets, among rising fears of nuclear fallout from the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The president of the Malta Chamber of Pharmacists, Mary Anne Sant Fournier, confirmed with Times of Malta that the chamber had received “sporadic reports of a slight increase in requests for iodine tablet preparations”.
“This slight increase is attributable to fear of the possible threat of nuclear fallout from any damaged nuclear plant facilities or the use of nuclear weapons,” she said.
The chamber was envisaging “further impact” on the availability of other pharmaceuticals, due to predicted disruption in transport logistics and the supply of raw materials.
The trend follows a much more pronounced reaction in Europe after fighting broke out on the site of two of Ukraine’s nuclear plants, Chernobyl and Zaporizhzhia, as part of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion on Ukraine.
Euronews reported last week that pharmacies in at least nine EU countries were experiencing a huge surge in demand for the tablets since the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
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