More Masks Means Fewer Germs, Hitting P&G’s Cold-Medicine Sales

As Americans put social gatherings on hold to avoid contracting the coronavirus, they’re catching fewer common colds, damping sales of the over-the-counter remedies that usually fly off the shelves when the temperature drops.

Sales of cold, flu and cough medicine in the U.S. plummeted 46% in the five weeks ended Dec. 26 from the same period a year prior, according to data from market research firm Nielsen. Procter and Gamble Co., which owns the Vicks and NyQuil medicine brands, said the drop in run-of-the-mill stuffy noses and sore throats partially offset the otherwise strong quarter for its health-care segment.