Shortage of children’s pain meds in Alberta; pharmacists at mercy of suppliers

Parents of young children and pharmacists in Alberta are dealing with a shortage of children’s pain medication in the province.

As cold and flu season picks up – with kids back to school – there’s a shortage of children’s Advil and Tylenol in pharmacies.

Pharmacists say they’re at the mercy of suppliers and price increases.

“There’s always manufacturing issues. We’re always navigating these kinds of problems,” said pharmacist Yasmeen Abdallah. “So it’s nothing new. But I think right now it’s hitting a more vulnerable, and a really large population, that people are more aware.”

The COVID-19 pandemic has its part to play in impacting supply issues for children’s pain medication.

And it’s not just pharmacies. Some grocery store shelves in Edmonton were fully bare as well.

Empty shelf at grocery store where children’s pain medication is usually held. (Credit: CityNews/Darcy Ropchan)

The shortage is hitting rural Alberta families hard.

“Our main community we go to is Wetaskiwin. They’re out,” said parent Kaley Edge. “And I phone every pharmacist in the community – six or seven – phone neighbouring communities trying to chase some down.”

Edge, the mother of a two-year-old boy, says pharmacists in the community have been trying to make do. But it’s still a struggle.

“When you don’t have access to the medication to manage the symptoms, as a parent – me a first-time parent – it’s a whole other level of worry you really don’t want to be dealing with.”