Over the past several weeks, the world has been hit by the global
outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Millions of people
have been asked to stay at home, often without being able to see
family and friends.
Novo Nordisk is concerned about all our patients, including people
living with obesity and other serious chronic diseases. Our thoughts
go out to those directly affected as well as those caring for an
affected family member. Novo Nordisk is committed to ensure
uninterrupted supply of our medicines and to support local
governments, health authorities and patient organisations to do what
we can to improve the supply of healthcare equipment, research
expertise and facilities, and information to help address concerns
related to the availability of our medicines (see novonordisk.com).
COVID-19 is a serious public-health threat, so great care should be
taken to avoid it. The reason is that senior people and people with
pre-existing medical conditions including diabetes, hypertension,
heart disease, pulmonary disorders and obesity with related conditions
are at a higher risk of experiencing complications and becoming
seriously ill.
As the World
Obesity Federation (WOF) points out, “obesity-related conditions
seem to worsen the effect of COVID-19”. Several professional obesity
organisations stress that special caution is urged for people with a
BMI of 40 and above, and avoiding infection is paramount for people
with obesity.
Protect your loved ones and stay at home. In case of COVID-19
symptoms, everyone is advised to follow the recommendations provided
by the WHO
and their local health authorities.
While it may seem intuitive, there is no need to stockpile on
anti-obesity medication. Novo Nordisk is well prepared to handle
emergency situations and have an inventory policy that serves
long-term supply. Currently, we are not experiencing any supply
constraints in our production,
distribution or warehouses.
We are aware that health authorities and pharmacies in some
countries are doing their best to ensure that medicines are always
available for those who need it. We are in close contact with our
partners to monitor their inventory levels and take appropriate actions.
As it may be particularly challenging to stay at home and face
uncertainty, we talked to Dr. Michael Vallis, a health
psychologist and Associate Professor of Family Medicine at Dalhousie
University in Canada to get his insight into the emotional reactions
people are having to the coronavirus pandemic – and what can be done
about them.
