Preparing for a possible nuclear incident, the country of Romania, which shares a border with Ukraine, is planning to distribute potassium iodide tablets to its populations from ages 0 to 40.
The tablets are taken in the event of a nuclear hazard to counteract the effects of radiation poisoning. It does this by “filling” the thyroid with non-radioactive iodide, causing there to be no room in the gland to absorb the radioactive iodide.
“At the beginning of next week, the Romanian Government and the Ministry of Health will start the campaign to inform the population on how to administer and store potassium iodide tablets,” the country’s Health Ministry explained in a statement released Sunday.
“In the near future, the Ministry of Health and the National Health Insurance House will establish the legal procedure for the distribution of potassium iodide pills for the population aged 0 to 40 years,” the statement continued. “The distribution of tablets will begin in the second half of April.”
Last month, potassium iodide tablets quickly became sold out as Americans, fearing nuclear war with Russia, began panic buying the pills. According to the Daily Mail, after the leading manufacturer had sold-out, identical pills started popping up at an 1100% increase in price.
Chris Sampson, a rep for BTG, a company that sells “Thyrosafe” into the United States from the UK, underscoredthat the increase in demand for the product is not entirely attributed to panic buyers but governments as well.
“Most of our product is sold to governments, public health agencies, and the military who manage stockpiles,” he explained. “All of those orders are being met.”
Late last month, Russia’s deputy chairman of the security council reasserted its “readiness” to use nuclear weapons in its conflict with Ukraine. This prompted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to insist that the threat was not merely against his country but the entire world.
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