A syringe is seen at a drugstore in Bucheon, Gyeonggi on April 7. [NEWS1]
Korea's hospitals are bracing for a wave of shortages of essential medicines, the drugs that emergency and intensive-care teams reach for in life-and-death moments, as suppliers halt production of low-margin staples.
The clearest example is Ativan, the lorazepam injection given to children whose seizures will not stop. Its only manufacturer has ended production. Lidocaine and other basic injectables, along with antibiotics, anesthetics and cancer drugs used in hospitals every day, are now flashing supply warnings. Doctors warn that "a second Ativan crisis" could break out at any time.
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