Some children’s cold, flu medications temporarily out of stock at Ontario pharmacies

It hasn’t been unusual to see various items out of stock on store shelves throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, but as Ontario deals with the sixth wave of cases and other seasonal ailments, certain over-the-counter children’s cold and flu medications are temporarily out of stock.

It’s an issue that doesn’t appear to be restricted to any one store or chain. CityNews visited several east-end Toronto pharmacies and found each outlet had some stock missing.

“There were several products that we would normally order in that are on backorder situation with our wholesaler, so it could be due to high demand or it could be due to a supply interruption at some point during the manufacturing process,” Jen Belcher, the vice-president of strategic initiatives and member relations with the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said.

CityNews contacted the corporate offices of Shopper’s Drug Mart and Rexall to ask about what’s behind the current supply of children’s cold and influenza medications, but responses weren’t received as of Tuesday afternoon.

However, a sign at a Scarborough Rexall outlet said the shortages are due to “manufacturer supply issues.”

“Please speak with a pharmacist to discuss alternatives or ask any question you may have about cough and cold treatments,” the sign said.

Belcher said instances of illness appear to be elevated right now.

“We are seeing a bump in cases in people who have symptoms whether it be COVID-19 or influenza or just your common cold at this point in time of the year,” Belcher said.

“We see especially since March Break and with some of the changes around public health measures, there has been a change in the transmission of respiratory illness.”

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Dr. Dina Kulik, a pediatrician and the founder of Kidcrew Medical, said she and others are seeing and hearing about more sick children.

“Certainly seeing a lot more viral illness, so kids with coughs, runny noses, vomiting, diarrhea, pink eye, sore throat, achiness, all the whole gamut of viral symptoms. And of course COVID can present with any of these symptoms, but so can many other viral infections,” she told CityNews.

In addition to consulting with a sick child’s health care provider, Kulik shared uniform advice for dealing with COVID, colds and influenza.

“Making sure they’re hydrated, making sure they’re comfortable with medicines like acetaminophen or ibuprofen, making sure they’re getting lots of rest,” she said.

“Even if they don’t have a great appetite, as long as they’re drinking, they’re interacting with you, they’re not having struggles with breathing, they should be feeling much, much better within a couple of days.”

So when should there be a return to a normal supply of children’s cold and flu medications for children?

Belcher said several products are scheduled to be back in stock as soon as May, but added it’s not uncommon for order dates to change. She urged parents to not substitute children’s products for adult ones.

“Those combination products, which are typically all the cough and cold products, can be very difficult to dose-adjust because they are in fixed ratios and just reducing the amount doesn’t often produce either therapeutic or safe amounts of medication for a child,” Belcher said.

Kulik echoed that advice, encouraging consideration of using just ibuprofen or acetaminophen.

“For one they (combination cold and flu medications) are not very helpful and in some cases can pose risk, so I wouldn’t be reaching for these kind of cough suppressants or medicines like that anyway,” she said.