​Olexandru Rafila urged “everyone” on Monday to contact their family doctor as soon as possible for a prescription for potassium iodide tablets, which can then be obtained at the nearest pharmacy. Millions of iodine tablets are waiting to be picked up free of charge by Romanians under 40 from some 2,500 pharmacies across the country, says the health minister, who admits, however, that “the world is not very interested”.

“The distribution of potassium iodide tablets is quite effective, I urge everyone, all people under 40 years of age, to contact a family doctor as soon as possible, from whom you need to get a prescription, and we have 2,500 pharmacies. the whole country where they can get these pills for free. So, it’s a perfectly functional system, it’s important that people use the system that we managed to implement,” Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said on Monday at a press conference at the ministry’s headquarters, answering a journalist’s question.

Asked by journalists what percentage of the total number of tablets distributed so far, Rafila replied that “I don’t have the numbers, but I don’t think it’s a big percentage.”

This spring, the National State Reserve Authority purchased 30 million tablets of potassium iodide worth 6 million euros. Potassium iodide tablets were produced by Antibiotice Iași.

General practitioners are unhappy that iodine prescriptions cannot be written online

The National Federation of Family Physician Associations responded Monday to Alexander Rafila’s claims, revealing that patients may have to wait days or weeks for an appointment to receive a prescription for potassium iodide tablets. .

“In light of the Minister of Health’s announcement that people under the age of 40 should immediately contact their family doctor for a prescription for potassium iodide, we inform patients with existing health problems that they may have to wait several days or weeks before they can make an appointment for a consultation with a family doctor,” the National Federation of Family Physician Associations said in a statement.

The GPs show that ‘medical and surgical emergencies are a priority and, according to guidance from the Health Secretary today, healthy people under the age of 40 who want a prescription for potassium iodide, which they will later collect from 2,500 pharmacies. according to the list posted on the website of the Ministry”.

Family doctors also warn that these prescriptions cannot be sent online, as physical presence in the office is mandatory: “Please note that prescriptions cannot be sent via Whatsapp, email, as physical presence in the office is mandatory. It should be noted that since the morning the Unified Integrated Information System of CNAS has been working with interruptions, therefore there may be delays in scheduled consultations.”

“We apologize to our patients for the situation in which the Minister of Health once again put us,” concludes the National Federation of Family Physicians’ Patronages.

At first, Rafila wanted to distribute iodine tablets, which she talked about on TV for a month, through family doctors

The history of iodine tablets begins in March. At the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Romanians ransacked pharmacies, releasing iodine tablets from them – including dietary supplements that contain a small amount of iodine.

At the first stage, while Romanians were emptying pharmacies of iodine, and some doctors warned in the press that injecting iodine behind the ear could bring more harm than good, the Ministry of Health did not react.

Later, as iodine was on everyone’s lips, Minister Rafila announced that the Ministry of Health would distribute the iodine itself. He emphasized that no one should take prophylactic pills, but they will be distributed to the population just in case.

Over the next month, the Minister of Health talked almost exclusively about iodine in all his public appearances – at press conferences or appearances on TV shows.

During this time, Antibiotice Iași urgently produced 30 million iodine tablets.

The 30 million potassium iodide pills cost “about 30 million lei”, which is equivalent to about 6 million euros, and the purchase was made by the National State Reserves Authority, not the Ministry of Health, he explained to Aleksandr Rafil on April 5 at the request of journalists at a press conference in the headquarters of the Ministry of Health.

From distribution through family doctors to distribution through pharmacies

Alexandru Rafila initially wanted iodine tablets to be distributed by family doctors, but they objected, citing the fact that overcrowding and red tape could block their offices during an already difficult time this spring – a wave of viruses and flu, COVID-19, testing for COVID-19, vaccinations, consultations, prescriptions, referrals, etc.

In other countries, potassium iodide tablets are indeed distributed periodically, but solutions such as distribution through pharmacies or mailing them directly to citizens have also been found.

The distribution of potassium iodide tablets was supposed to begin, according to Minister Alexandru Rafil, in the week from April 5 to 11.

However, amid opposition from family doctors, the Ministry of Health said on Sunday, April 4, it was delaying the distribution to first carry out an “information campaign”.

The information campaign initially meant several slides published on the website of the Ministry of Health and the National Institute of Health.

Also, on April 28, the National Broadcasting Council announced that it had approved the broadcast of an information campaign on the use of potassium iodide. The CNA then approved a request from the Department of Health to broadcast, as a public interest campaign, an informative radio and television spot about taking potassium iodide tablets.

“Potassium iodide is a medicine. It will be used only in the unlikely event of a nuclear incident and only at the direction of the authorities. Do not administer potassium iodide on your own initiative,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement.

The commercial is aired within two months of CNA campaign approval on local, regional and national radio and television media.

Secretary of State who announced that iodine tablets would no longer be distributed at all

In mid-May, at the weekend, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Health, Tiberius Bradesan, announced on Europa Fm that iodine tablets will no longer be distributed to the public.

Their distribution will be carried out by health departments only in case of a nuclear accident, the official said at the time.

State Secretary Bradetsan’s statement circulated in the press for 2-3 days, and the Ministry of Health did not say anything about it. The decision would be questionable to say the least, given the fact that iodine pills are only effective if they are administered no later than 12 hours after a possible nuclear accident, and this was the main reason why the institution under the leadership of Alexandrou Rafil and the minister himself first announced that the pills would be distributed prophylactically.

“They will not be distributed to people who may be affected, except in an emergency, which no one wants, which is to have a nuclear accident or such a situation that requires the administration of iodine to all citizens. They will be distributed when, God forbid, we have a nuclear-type event,” said Tiberius Bradetan, Secretary of State for the Ministry of Health, on Europa Fm in mid-May.

Later, the Ministry of Health sent an explanation regarding the distribution of potassium iodide tablets: “Potassium iodide tablets must be administered to persons who have the right to do so in the event of a risk of exposure due to a nuclear incident. The Ministry of Health is working on the organization of a system of free distribution to the population, which will become operational after the completion of the information campaign on this topic.”

The Ministry of Health also claimed that “Mr. Tiberius Bradatan presented only a personal point of view, not being aware of this topic.”

At the end of May, the Ministry of Health reported that iodine tablets will be distributed through pharmacies, but only with a prescription from a family doctor.

People under 40 should be given iodine no later than a few hours after exposure.

To achieve effective blockade of radioactive uptake, potassium iodide should be administered as soon as possible after exposure. In the event of a nuclear accident, it should be administered within 6 hours of the announcement by the authorities, even the Ministry of Health indicated in an information campaign about iodine.

If the introduction of potassium iodide occurs later than 12 hours after irradiation, its absorption is no longer significant, since the radioactive iodine has already been absorbed by the thyroid gland.

The duration of treatment is limited to a single dose.

The younger the age, the greater the potential benefit from iodine prophylaxis.

The risk of thyroid cancer per unit dose of radioactive iodine is higher in the fetus, neonate, and infant than in the adult. The target population for iodine administration is mainly people under 40 years of age.

Read also:

• Rafila about iodine tablets: The world was not very interested. Tablets can be found in 2,500 pharmacies across the country

• Family doctors: Prescription for iodine tablets cannot be written online, presence in the office is required. It may take several days or weeks to make an appointment