The position for the purchase of potassium iodide in the amount of 4.85 million rubles appeared on the Unified Procurement Information System portal (EIS Procurement), according to Kommersant.
The drug is used, in particular, to protect the thyroid gland during nuclear or radiological emergencies. According to the EIS, the pharmaceutical substance is purchased by order of FSUE RPC Pharmzashchita of the FMBA of Russia.
“Similar forms for the purchase of potassium iodide appear every year. Forms on the purchase of the drug for $ 56,000 were placed in the system in late December 2020 and early March 2021,” the publication notes.
Russian marketplaces Ozon and Wildberries earlier reported that from April to March 2022, sales of a radiation protective agent increased by 103%. Reuters also wrote that the demand for potassium iodide and other drugs that contain it has increased in European countries as well. According to the publication, stocks of the drug were made by residents of France, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. The demand for it in those countries exceeded the annual amount of the previous year. The US is also facing a shortage of potassium iodide tablets. As reported by The Daily Mail, American citizens feared a possible nuclear war or incidents at one of Ukraine’s nuclear power plants.