Healthcare Minister comments on antiviral drug shortage in Astana

Tengrinews.kz – More than 60,000 units of antiviral medication were delivered to pharmacies in Astana yesterday, Health Minister Akmarl Alnazarova said when asked about reports of shortages amid a surge in influenza and ARVI cases.

Speaking to journalists in the Senate, Alnazarova was asked whether viral messages claiming that “there are no fever-reducing medicines left in Astana” were true.

The minister confirmed that the capital had recently experienced a localized shortage of certain antiviral drugs.

“We worked with major distributors from the very first days. Yesterday, more than 60,000 packages were supplied to Astana alone. These medicines have been distributed across all pharmacy chains, so there is no acute shortage at the moment. We are closely monitoring the situation,” she said.

Alnazarova added that Astana currently records the highest spike in respiratory infections.

Context

According to the Health Ministry, since the start of the epidemiological season on 1 September 2025, Kazakhstan has registered 1,461,819 ARVI cases, including 963,847 children under 14 — nearly 66 percent of all cases.

A total of 590 flu cases have been confirmed, 587 of them A(H3N2), the Hong Kong flu strain that has circulated in Kazakhstan since 2001. Isolated cases of A(H1N1) have also been detected.

Hong Kong flu: why this season feels more severe and when to take antivirals

On 19 November, Astana’s Chief Sanitary Doctor Aigul Shagaltayeva signed a decree introducing strengthened sanitary and anti-epidemic measures in the capital amid rising cases of ARVI and influenza.

Earlier, Minister Alnazarova said that influenza and ARVI incidence in Kazakhstan may begin to decline in the second half of December, as colder weather reduces viral circulation.