Kids' Tylenol, Advil liquid and chewable in 'significant shortage' in Ontario
Tylenol and Advil for children – both in liquid and chewable forms – are under a “significant shortage,” leading pharmacists to control supply and recommend cutting adult doses for children, according to the Ontario Pharmacists Association.
“We're at a point where there are really none of those liquid or chewable options available for pharmacies to purchase, which puts it at a fairly significant shortage,” Jen Belcher, vice president of strategic initiatives and member relations for the Ontario Pharmacists Association (OPA), told CTV News Toronto.
About a month ago, Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children began warning parents that some pharmacies were dealing with supply shortages of liquid Tylenol and Advil.
However, they had larger bottles of the medication available behind the counter and asked parents to obtain prescriptions in order for pharmacists to redistribute the medication into smaller bottles.
But since then, the supply has depleted further. In addition to liquid Tylenol and Advil, it now extends to chewables too, Belcher said.
There’s also a shortage of the larger bottles pharmacies were leaning on to redistribute supply about a month ago.
“Currently, as a pharmacist, I'm not even able to purchase those larger bottles that we would typically keep behind the counter. So really, what's out there in the field right now is what's available,” Belcher said.
“We have been in discussions with some of the manufacturers and the messaging we've gotten is that production is proceeding at the different facilities and has not been interrupted, but due to a big spike in demand, we're seeing this shortage,” she said.
At this time, SickKids told CTV News Toronto it is able to “maintain adequate supply” as they continue to keep “monitoring the situation closely.”
Interim Solution
Belcher said she is hoping to see a return to normal supply levels by mid to late fall.
In the meantime, the OPA is recommending pharmacists only sell one or two bottles of the medication at a time to prevent stockpiling.
At some pharmacies, Belcher said they are creating their own version of kids’ Tylenol and Advil by mixing raw ingredients in-house to manufacture a similar product.
Another option is cutting the adult swallowable tablets into smaller doses. Belcher said kids as young as two or three years old who weigh 24 to 35 pounds can take half of an adult tablet.
While she acknowledged that swallowing a tablet can be a challenge for younger children, there is also an option to crush the medication and mix it into applesauce or chocolate syrup.
“I've got a toddler that just entered preschool and the number of runny noses and fevers I think even just within his classrooms in the last two weeks, it's an unfortunate time for these ingredients to be in short supply,” Belcher said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.