The increased demand for common over-the-counter children’s medicines has led to pharmacies limiting the amounts customers can buy.
Pharmaceutical chain stores like CVS and Walgreens are rationing the number of children’s pain and fever reducers available for purchase per buyer.
Popular pain relief and fever-reducing medicines are being rationed to ensure everyone has access since a surge in demand, while it is not creating a widespread shortage, has these products less readily available in certain locations.
Sales of children’s medications to treat pain and fever are up 65% from this time last year, according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association (CHPA).
Comparing the situation to that seen with toilet paper at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Shannon Dillon, a pediatrician at Riley Children’s Health, said, “You just have to look in the right place at the right time.”
Dillon also encouraged the use of generic equivalents to brand-name medications, adding that they are “perfectly safe and often a much more affordable option.”
As reported by The Dallas Express earlier this month, North Texas has seen an onslaught of sickness brought on by the “tripledemic” of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the flu, and COVID-19.
RSV is particularly dangerous to young children. This season, CDC data shows, RSV has hospitalized more than four out of every 1,000 children younger than 5 years old.
The CHPA insists that the current buying limit is not a result of a shortage or a supply chain issue, but rather because it is just that time of year. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, flu season usually peaks between December and February and it includes the threat of respiratory viruses like RSV.
“We’ve been in touch with the manufacturers of these pain and fever reducers,” said the CHPA’s senior vice president of communications, Anita Brikman. They are manufacturing 24/7 to manufacture these products, get them shipped out, and get them back on store shelves.”
“There is no nationwide shortage,” Brikman added. “There’s no disruption in the supply chain.”
Walgreens released a similar statement explaining that its stores were enacting limits “to help support availability and avoid excess purchases” in light of the increased demand and various supplier challenges for over-the-counter pediatric fever-reducing products.
While Walgreens has limited the online purchase of children’s fever reducers to six per transaction, this does not yet apply to in-store customers.
CVS has implemented a limit of two children’s pain relief products per customer both in-store and online.
Rite Aid has no in-store limit but is restricting online purchases of Children’s Tylenol.
There is no time frame in place for this issue to be fixed, but the CHPA is asking people to purchase these medicines responsibly and avoid hoarding, which would exacerbate the stress of the limited supply.