1M bottles of children's medicine coming to Canada, but Island pharmacist calls that a 'drop in the bucket'
Like many parents, Lyndsey Watson has been contending with a major shortage of cold and flu medicine for her children this fall.
"That’s been, like, the number one challenge, I think, for everyone in our community." said the Qualicum mother of four. “It’s been really difficult to get our hands on a botte of Tylenol.”
Supply chain issues have left pharmacy shelves across Vancouver Island – and the country – depleted of children’s pain medications, but on Friday, Ottawa announced relief is on the way.
Supriya Sharma, Health Canada’s chief medical advisor announced that the federal government had secured more than one million bottles of foreign-made children’s medicine, which will start hitting the shelves next week.
“After next week, more than one million bottles will have entered Canada to supply hospitals, community pharmacies and retailers,” said Sharma.
Watson was happy to hear that news Friday.
“That’s amazing, because we all need it on our community," she said. "That’s really great to hear that were going to get some more Tylenol on the shelves.”
Andrea Silver, a pharmacist at Heart Pharmacy in Saanich, says it is good news, but only a start.
“A million doses in the province, that wold be awesome," said Silver. "But a million doses across Canada is a drop in the bucket and will satisfy a portion of parents, but unfortunately a lot of parents will be in the same situation in a few weeks to months.”
And demand for the kids' medicines is only expected to grow, as we hit the heart of cold, flu, and RSV season. Already in the past couple weeks, visits to Vancouver Island emergency departments for respiratory illnesses have increased, nearly doubling from a daily average 4.5 to eight in Nanaimo, and increasing from an average of 10 to nearly 16 a day at Victoria General Hospital.
“We need more doses. We know that. There aren’t a lot of solutions to the problem right now,” said Silver.
Pharmacists have recently been advising parents on how much adult medicine to give kids, and are also compounding medicines, but that’s a costly and inefficient solution.
“The used by date is actually quite short, so days to weeks,” said Silver.
So news of a million bottles of medicine expected to hit shelves starting next week is welcome, but families will need much more medicine in the months ahead.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Spectacular aurora light show to be seen across Canada Friday night
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment
McGill University has filed a request for an injunction to have the pro-Palestinian encampment removed from its campus.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
U.S. says Israel's use of U.S. arms likely violated international law, but evidence is incomplete
The Biden administration said Israel's use of U.S.-provided weapons in Gaza likely violated international humanitarian law but wartime conditions prevented U.S. officials from determining that for certain in specific airstrikes.
Barron Trump declines to serve as an RNC delegate
Former U.S. President Donald Trump's youngest son, Barron Trump, has declined to serve as a delegate at this summer’s Republican National Convention, according to a senior Trump campaign adviser and a statement from Melania Trump's office.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
'We have laws': Premier Smith says police action justified in Calgary
The actions, including the decision to use non-lethal force, to disperse pro-Palestinian protesters from the University of Calgary campus were justified, Alberta Premier Danielle Smith said Friday.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.