• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, October 9, 2009

As swine flu spreads more quickly than anticipated, Wal-Mart Stores is stepping up its game and says it will begin preparing a special form of Tamiflu -- a drug in short supply -- at 4,000 of its pharmacies. Other pharmacies, including Walgreens and Publix, have made similar announcements in recent weeks.

While there is no shortage of Tamiflu capsules, the form usually prescribed for adults, an increase in flu outbreaks has caused shortages of the oral suspension form of the drug, usually prescribed for kids. So Walmart pharmacists will convert the capsules to liquid in a process known as compounding.

"The FDA-approved process," the company says in its statement, "will ensure Americans have greater access to the well known antiviral drug often prescribed when individuals contract influenza. The liquid form is commonly taken by children, the elderly and those with difficulty swallowing the capsule form. We want to assure families and their physicians that our team of pharmacists ... has the medication available, and we have pharmacists skilled in compounding oral suspensions."

Tamiflu, made by Swiss drug marketer Roche, is prescribed for both flu prevention and the treatment of flu symptoms.

Wal-Mart's announcement comes just as U.S. health officials are reporting that the H1N1 flu is spreading more quickly than previously believed, with flu-related doctor visits, hospitalization rates and deaths all exceeding average flu season rates. The Centers for Disease Control also reports that 19 children died from flu this week, with 16 of them confirmed as H1N1; so far, 76 children have died from this strain of flu since April.

With public interest in flu prevention so high, other retailers have been scrambling, offering unprecedented levels of services. In addition to organizing extensive flu vaccination clinics, Walgreens and CVS have generated headlines by donating millions of dollars worth of vaccines to the unemployed.