Paracetamol is consumed to treat fever and pain for numerous conditions and was recommended for symptom relief at the start of the pandemic.
England initiated a national lockdown in March 2020 as Covid-19 began to cause symptoms such as fevers. From March 2020, the average UK price paid by pharmacies and dispensing doctors for Paracetamol Caplets 500mg 100 rose to £2.06. It stayed around this price until April 2020 when it declined to £1.40 in June which mirrors the pandemic timeline of events. When the lockdown restrictions were lifted in July, you can see the UK average price for Paracetamol Caplets 500mg 100 slowly decrease to £0.90. However, the price started to rise again as the second national restrictions were introduced on the 5th of November. It then rose to £1.11 in January 2021 when the national restrictions continued into a third lockdown. As of March 2021, when England began to end this lockdown, we have seen the price decrease again. The pattern for Paracetamol Caplets 500mg 32 has followed the same pattern as the 100 pack.
This information was collected from our BPPI service which provides up to 10 years’ worth of historic data.