CDU General Secretary Mario Czaja has called for concerted political action in view of overcrowded children's practices and a shortage of fever and cough syrups for children.

"The issue of children's health must now have more priority. We need a winter sprint for children's health," said the member of the Bundestag in an interview with the German Press Agency in Berlin. "We need a summit for the procurement of children's medicines quickly."

Pragmatic solutions needed

Czaja called for pragmatic solutions to quickly obtain the simplest medicines such as fever syrup, as well as other preparations for small children that have become scarce. Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) had to buy medicines from the state. "It was possible during the corona pandemic, now it would be too. The political will just has to be there at last."

Last week, Lauterbach presented the key points for a law that, among other things, provides for new price rules and is intended to make deliveries more economically attractive for providers. European producers should generally have a stronger say. The legislative plans are to be implemented in the new year.

Czaja: Clear order for drugs and medical technology

Czaja said that a clear order is needed as to which drugs and which medical-technical material in the clinics are to be bought directly by the federal government, ideally in the EU. The pharmacies have to be compensated for the high effort they would incur when looking for substitute medicines. In addition, European export restrictions for medicines and medical devices that have become scarce in Europe and Germany must be discussed. This is a lesson of the corona pandemic - "that helped at the time".