Shoppers have gone from hoarding toilet paper to tissues at supermarkets as Aussies battle a cold or the flu.
Coles, Woolworths and Aldi report boxes of tissues, cold and flu tablets and painkillers have been selling fast due to a higher demand.
Many tissue brands have also completely sold out on Coles and Woolworths websites as retailers work with their suppliers to acquire more stock.
The problem has been fueled by the ‘super cold’ during the winter, the beginning of the flu season and the ongoing Covid pandemic.
Shoppers have hoarded up on tissues as many fight off the flu or a cold. Coles, Woolworths and Aldi have reported low tissue stock across stores as images of near empty shelves surface online
Shoppers shared images of empty store shelves that held boxes of tissues, reminiscent of when shelves were raided for toilet paper during the pandemic.
Others took to social media to express their disappointment over not being able to purchase tissues.
‘I thought, ‘there’s a cold going around’ was just a thing people said, but when I went to woolies for tissues and panadol, both sections were almost entirely empty,’ wrote one.
Another commented: ‘Tissues! Woolies and coles shelves empty last night…’
A third shopper said that ‘many items did not exist’ at Aldi including ‘toilet paper, tissues, packet soup, don’t think about frozen chicken, completely empty as well as chips’.
Simon Griffiths, who is the co-founder of toilet paper and tissue company Who Gives a Crap, told Daily Mail Australia that he believes tissue buying has become a state issue rather than a national one.
‘This is a different situation to toilet paper as the spike is in certain states and there are other ways people can blow their nose,’ he said.
Mr Griffiths revealed that Queensland had the biggest spike in sales across Australia.
‘We’re seeing a 20 per cent uplift nationally with a 30 per cent index in Queensland and Victoria and a 20 per cent index in New South Wales and Western Australia.’
Mr Griffiths, who still has plenty of tissue boxes available on his website, advised Australian consumers not to ‘panic’ as there’s still plenty of stock circulating and other items to substitute for a tissue.
‘Don’t panic. Panic is the main cause of a lot of problems we had in the pandemic (in regards to toilet paper),’ he added.
Aussies are buying up tissues and medicine amid the ‘super cold’ during the winter, the beginning of the flu season and the ongoing Covid pandemic
Shoppers posted pics of empty shelves, reminiscent of when toilet paper was raided during the pandemic. Others took to social media to express their disappointment
A Woolworths spokesperson acknowledged that there was a stock issue with tissue boxes in a statement.
‘Given the recent cold snap and early start to the flu season, there’s quite a lot of demand for a range of medicinal and paper goods products including cold and flu tablets, throat lozenges and tissues,’ the spokesperson said.
‘While customers might notice that the availability of some of their preferred brands might be limited, we continue to offer a wide range of alternatives across these ranges.’
Coles reassured shoppers that there will be sufficient supply of tissues during the flu season.
‘Customers may notice that some stores might not have their usual brands of facial tissues in stock at the moment,’ a spokesperson said.
‘We want to assure customers that there will be enough stock to get them through this flu season, and encourage them to be flexible if the products they would usually purchase are not available.’
Aldi declined to comment on their tissue stock.
Woolworths confirmed to Daily Mail Australia that there was a stock issue with tissues, cold and flu tablets and lozenges. The supermarket giant said it was working with suppliers
Covid lockdowns and travel restrictions have left Australians with low immunity as the country faces a record-breaking flu season.
Chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University Professor Catherine Bennett told Daily Mail Australia Covid restrictions coupled with unseasonable weather are responsible for the 87,989 flu cases reported early this season.
‘After two low flu seasons, in fact virtually no season in 2021, we don’t have the usual cross immunity from recent exposure,’ she said.
‘We had an early start to the flu season this year, partly because as international border restrictions and isolation requirements eased, travellers brought the virus from other countries still coming out of winter.
‘We also had a very wet summer along parts of the east coast which may have helped create indoor mixing conditions that lead to more local spread than usual.’
Australia’s massive spike in flu cases is likely due to low immunity because of Covid restrictions and wet weather keeping people indoors
Dr Bennett added that low flu vaccination rates after mass Covid vaccination schemes could mean people will get more sick, more often.
‘Some people have stopped their flu shots over the last two years,’ she said.
‘This means we have less immunity against infection and may experience more severe illness than in pre-Covid years.’
With flu medicine running in low supply, Dr Bennett recommends people make the most of available flu vaccines and focus on their general health.
‘The main thing is to get vaccinated for the flu, if you’re not already. It’s a good match to the current circulating strains so it works well,’ she said.
‘If you get an infection you should watch you don’t get dehydrated and take pain relief for headaches or sore muscles.
‘If you are feeling very unwell, seeking doctor’s advice early is important.’
Victorian President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia Anthony Tassone said the sudden high demand for flu and pain medication has created a shortage in pharmacies.
Doctors recommend people stay on top of their flu and Covid vaccination (above) to avoid catching a severe flu as medicine shortages continue
Chair in Epidemiology at Deakin University Professor Catherine Bennett (above) said eased border restrictions saw the flu begin spreading in Australia earlier than usual
‘There have been shortages for medications used for pain and fever such as paracetamol and ibuprofen – in products for children and adults,’ he said.
‘These shortages happened intermittently throughout the Covid pandemic and may be due to sudden increases in demand which supply cannot keep up with.’
Mr Tassone said he’d seen the shortage first-hand in his Victorian pharmacy where cases are 278 times higher than this time last year.
‘Pharmacy teams are trying their best to obtain stock as soon as possible and may be able to suggest an alternative,’ he said.
A Woolworths spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia the supermarket giant is also experiencing a shortage of flu essentials including cold and flu tablets, throat lozenges and tissues.
The contagious ‘superflu’ began making the rounds in March but started to spread rapidly in late May with 47,860 cases recorded in just two weeks between May 23 and June 5.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk