No quick fix for shortage of cold, flu medication, pharmacists say | 24CA News
Soaring and sustained demand for grownup chilly and flu treatment is forcing pharmacists and sufferers to deal with shortages throughout Canada.
Pharmacists say there is not any clear sense of when the demand will let up, given the continuing COVID-19 pandemic and the added challenges posed by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and the flu.
“The demand is such a critical piece of this particular puzzle that it is very hard to anticipate what the next several months are going to look like,” stated Joelle Walker, vice-president of public {and professional} affairs for the Canadian Pharmacists Association.
Similar shortages are being reported within the United States and the United Kingdom, additionally amid elevated demand.
Justin Bates, the top of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, would not see a short-term resolution, pointing to the restricted capability of producers in Canada to ramp up manufacturing any greater than they have already got.
“[They’re] playing catch-up constantly,” Bates advised 24CA News Network on Thursday.
Going ahead, as soon as the cabinets have been restocked, he says the trade ought to have a look at “mitigating factors” in order that provides might be extra successfully managed throughout the winter months.
He urged shifting some chilly and flu drugs behind the counter — to scale back theft and hoarding — as one chance.
Empty cabinets
Pharmacists report empty cabinets that will usually maintain merchandise for aid from chilly and flu signs.
“There’s so much empty space on the shelf that it just looks like it’s been bombed,” stated Anne Marie Siteman, a pharmacist in Dartmouth, N.S., describing a shortage she’s not seen in 40-plus years on the job.
That traces up with the nationwide image.
“We’ve not really dealt with an over-the-counter medication shortage, to this extent, certainly in many years,” stated Walker.
She says recent provides proceed to come back in, however they transfer out in a short time.
The federal authorities has stated it is monitoring the state of affairs and chatting with producers concerning the difficulty.
Health Canada advised 24CA News on Thursday it’s “aware of elevated demand and supply constraints of over-the-counter adult analgesics” — particularly ibuprofen, acetaminophen and mixture merchandise — and is working to deal with them.
‘Doing all we are able to’
Pharmaceutical firms have acknowledged the broader scarcity of chilly and flu merchandise and say they’re working to satisfy demand.
Reckitt, maker of the chilly and flu treatment Mucinex, is seeing “significantly increased demand” this season, in accordance with spokesperson Andrea Riepe.
“We are doing all we can to maximize availability,” Riepe stated by way of e mail.
Likewise, the web site for Benylin is at present topped with a big banner, saying producer Johnson & Johnson is “taking all possible measures” to get extra of the cough treatment onto cabinets.
Jeff Taylor, a professor on the University of Saskatchewan’s College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, says the over-the-counter drugs in brief provide aren’t strictly crucial, however serve a helpful function.
“People want symptom relief,” stated Taylor, who has been astonished by the shortages he is seen the place he lives.
Walker, on the pharmacists’ affiliation, says her group advises folks to get their flu shot and their COVID-19 boosters and, in the event that they get sick, speak to a pharmacist or health-care supplier about how to alleviate signs.
