Australians have cleared chemists out of Nurofen and Panadol amid the Omicron surge, but accidentally left the shelves filled with a less popular painkiller that's just as good as the popular brand names.
Eagle-eyed shopper at a Chemist Warehouse store noticed panic buyers had ignored dozens of packets of the pain relief medication Panamax.
Paramax is cheaper than Panadol but has exactly the same active ingredient.
Australians have ignored dozens of packets of the pain relief medication Panamax (in white and orange boxes on left hand side of photo) as they raid chemists for Panadol amid the Omicron surge
The woman shared shelves normally stocked with Panadol and Nurofen stripped bare, while Panamax supplies were almost untouched nearby.
'When people don’t realise Panamax is paracetamol,' the woman wrote on Twitter.
At $2.99 a packet for 100 tablets, others joked Panamax was also almost five times cheaper than the more popular Panadol equivalent.
Supermarkets have been stripped bare of pain relief medication in recent days as shoppers prepare to be infected with the milder strain by having over-the-counter medications handy.
The shortage has sparked scenes reminiscent of the toilet paper hoarding of 2020, with many now unable to find their preferred medications,
The buying spree was prompted by Deputy Chief Health Officer Professor Michael Kidd urging Australians to prepare themselves for contracting Covid as case numbers surge.
On Monday, many said they went to the supermarket and found themselves unable to find any painkillers.
'No Panadol on the shelves at my local Woolworths yesterday - stripped bare,' one person wrote to Twitter on Monday.
Supermarkets shelves in Australia's capitals are being cleared of Panadol and Nurofen after the deputy chief medical officer said the pills would be handy amid Omicron (pictured: a
