'triple threat' of viruses causing major shortage of kids' medication

on monday, health canada announced that four pharmaceutical companies have reported shortages of drugs containing amoxicillin, specifically in the liquid and chewable forms usually prescribed to children. the antibiotic agent is used to treat certain many bacterial infections, and is one of the most commonly-prescribed antibiotic drugs. this comes amid an existing shortage of childrens’ pain medication that contain a cetaminophen (tylenol, tempra) and ibuprofen (advil, motrin) that’s been ongoing since the summer.

“not having a product to treat a fever itself will affect a large part of the larger childhood population because we’re seeing it across the country. we’re seeing it in all cities,” said barry power, editor-in-chief at the canadian pharmacists association (cpha) and a pharmacist in ottawa, told global news.

the situation is reportedly already contributing to overcrowding in hospitals, as desperate parents try to get some relief for their sick children. the shortage is coming at a time when the prevalence of several different illnesses is starting to converge, says jen belcher, vice president of the ontario pharmacists association.

“we were originally predicting a bit of a ‘twindemic’ this fall, and now we’ve got this triple threat with covid-19 circulating at relatively high levels, influenza season looking to shape up to be worse and earlier than an average year based off what we’ve seen out of the southern hemisphere and the united states, and then high levels of rsv [respiratory syncytial virus] circulating all of these viral illnesses,” she says.

what makes kids’ pain medications different from adults’?

“unprecedented” demand and potential ingredient shortage

but given the “triple threat” of viruses — covid, the flu, and rsv — there’s a very high level of demand for pain meds that can decrease symptoms. it’s a need that health canada called “unprecedented” in a statement to healthing. t he demand for antibiotics isn’t surprising either, belcher says.

the canadian pediatric society, though, says that the shortage is not due to any manufacturing or safety issues, and several drug manufacturers have said they’ve increased output of these specific medications. in fact, drug manufacturer glaxosmithkline told cbc news that its antibiotic shortage could be over by the end of november or early december, while other companies reporting shortages are projecting that product may become available anywhere from january to march of 2023.

why does canada have a shortage, but not the u.s.?

in order to ease the impact of the shortage, health canada has approved  the “exceptional importation” of ibuprofen from the u.s. and acetaminophen from australia for distribution in hospitals. american ibuprofen has already arrived, health canada told healthing, and its use in hospitals “is expected to be soon,” the agency says.

usually products meant to be sold in countries outside of canada can’t be distributed in canadian stores, due to their unilingual labeling. canada’s consumer packaging and labelling act , established in 1985, promotes bilingualism by requiring that consumer products display information equally in both of canada’s official languages, english and french.

a similar step was taken in may 2020, a number of conservative mps pointed out in a letter to health minister jean-yves duclos in late october, urging the liberal government to begin importing foreign-language children’s ibuprofen and acetaminophen for sale. during the early months of the pandemic, health canada made an exception allowing the sale of salbutamol aldo-union inhalers labeled in spanish due to a canadian shortage, for instance. the agency ended up allowing over 300 disinfectants and hand sanitizing products devoid of bilingual labels under an interim order made for the exceptional circumstances. at the time, the move was criticized by groups including the federation of francophone and acadian communities and the quebec federation of labour.

what parents can do

pharmacists and family doctors are an important resource for worried parents. sometimes pharmacies or doctors’ offices keep extra stores of medications behind their counters in case of this kind of shortage, pharmacist dr. nardine nakhla told ctv news. and in many cases, pharmacists can also provide alternative medications, according to belcher.

health canada is also urging parents not to stockpile these drugs or give children adult drugs without consulting with a pharmacist or their doctor or use expired medication.