Alberta parent still concerned as shortage of children’s meds, baby formula continues into new year

A shortage of baby formula and children’s medicine due to supply-chain issues plagued Canadian parents throughout the year – and it’s still not over.

“I was getting a little nervous because I knew we would eventually need the formula,” said Alberta mom Samantha Boechler.

“It makes us laugh because during COVID, we look at the toilet paper panic buyers and we’re like, ‘what are you doing?’ But when it comes to a kid, you do, you panic buy. We will, without any hesitation. The second we see formula, we will be buying it.”

According to Health Canada, infant formula is still being limited due to a closure of a factory in the United States in February. That major factory re-opened in July but has still not returned to normal production capacity.

“It’s caused concern, it’s caused anxiety,” said Boechler. “But we’ve been lucky enough that we’ve not been without some. So that’s been good.”

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Boechler’s nine-month-old doesn’t have any allergies, which allows her to buy his formula online. But the Alberta College of Pharmacy says specific hypo-allergenic formulas have been in short supply since June.

Health Canada says it is currently “working closely with infant formula manufacturers to increase product supply, including those intended for hospitals and special medical use that are not available in retail stores.”

Parents are recommended to speak with their pharmacist if they are struggling to find the right formula.

“We know to be prepared,” said Boechler. “We were just kind of like, ‘OK get that bottle just in case.’”

And when it comes to children’s medicine, stores and hospitals are starting to see shipments of children’s pain medicine sourced by the federal government. But there’s no clear timeline on when the five million bottles imported by Alberta will arrive.

When reached for comment on Friday, Health Canada says it is still reviewing Turkish drugs for approval, as they ensure products are safe and effective and meet labelling requirements.