Pharmacists ask parents not to stockpile amidst shortage of kids pain meds
Posted December 2, 2022 5:22 pm.
Last Updated December 2, 2022 6:40 pm.
Pharmacists are asking parents not to stockpile the limited supply of children’s pain and fever medications that arrived on store shelves in Canada over the last week.
The federal government imported one million units of children’s acetaminophen and ibuprofen — commonly known as Tylenol and Advil — as emergency relief amid a shortage coupled with soaring rates of influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV.
Jen Belcher of the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA) says it wouldn’t take long for that supply to run out, given the high demand at stores across Canada.
“It’s not like everybody got a skid full and was able to restock their shelves,” she said from Kingston, Ont.
Some smaller community pharmacies may only have been allocated 10 or 12 bottles, Belcher said.
Many pharmacies and retailers are keeping the medication behind the counter or imposing quantity limits to try to ensure enough for all children who need it, she said.
“The interim supply is a good thing. It’s a million more bottles than what we had just (at) the beginning of last week,” Belcher said.
“But you know, given the level of demand out there and the frequency with which we’re having people really searching, the recommendations obviously are still not to go to multiple retailers and try to stockpile.”
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Belcher is asking parents not to stockpile by going from store to store.
The federal government says more imported pain medication is on its way to Canada and is expected to arrive in the coming days.
The emergency imports of medication spread across Canada are not enough to fix the shortage, pharmacists noted, so it’s important to avoid stockpiling.
“Most of the pharmacies are doing purchase limits, one quantity per person, keeping it behind the counter, telling people to buy only what they need,” said Shelita Dattani, vice president of pharmacy affairs for the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada.
