Canada facing amoxicillin shortage
Posted November 8, 2022 12:24 pm.
Parents know all too well the struggles of finding pain medication in recent months, but now Health Canada is warning of another shortage, which could impact your doctor’s prescription.
“First Tylenol and Advil, now amoxicillin, what’s next,” said Nadia Fattah, pharmacy assistant at Medicine Shoppe Petrolia.
Amoxicillin is a common antibiotic for children “typically used to treat ear infections, sinus infections,” Fattah explained.
But a south Edmonton pharmacy says they’ve been seeing more prescriptions in recent weeks at the same time as their supplier is limiting how much they can order.
Alberta Health Services told CityNews, they are not experiencing a shortage but are monitoring the situation.
“We are certainly getting reports that increase in demand is a significant reason for that,” said Jody Shkrobot, assistant professor at the University of Alberta Faculty of Pharmacy.
According to AHS, there has been a ‘spike’ in sick kids in and around Edmonton, earlier than expected.
As of Friday, 65 schools were classified as under ‘respiratory illness outbreak’ with more than 10 per cent of students absent, compared to only 14 in the Calgary region.
A spokesperson telling CityNews, although their pediatric emergency rooms are facing strain more kids could be staying home because “parents are keeping their kids home when sick more now than in the past.”
Shkrobot adds, “the worst thing that can happen is you have people try and stockpile and hoarding situations that make demand even more challenging.”
The professor is reminding that pharmacists are there to make sure you have what you need when you are sick as they navigate unpredictable supplies.
