‘We are in an emergency’: Health Canada considers options to stock children’s medicine
As flu, COVID-19 and respiratory illnesses spread to children across the country, pharmacies are looking at alternatives for keeping children’s medicines on their shelves.
Liquid Tylenol and other pharmaceuticals have been in short supply since the summer due to unprecedented demand for acetaminophen and ibuprofen products for infants and children.
Some pharmacists are forced to make liquid forms of children’s pain relievers from raw materials.
Pharmacist Kyro Maseh tells CityNews that it’s hard to watch desperate parents come every 15 minutes looking for a product.
“I have a parent and it hurts so much when I hear a child screaming on the phone behind me,” Mase said. “It breaks my heart.”
Justin Bates, CEO of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said manufacturers have been predicting what they’ll need based on annual consumption rates, which surprised them this year.
“We saw more respiratory disease and what we normally see in the fall when the cold and flu season starts much earlier…that was a 300% increase in demand.”
Bates said supply chains here in Canada are trying to address the shortage by increasing production by 35%, but more needs to be done to address the shortage.
He explained that a waiver must be made by Health Canada to allow the importation of children’s Advil and Tylenol from the United States.
“Currently, the regulatory process requires medicinal product identification numbers to be approved by Health Canada and subject to requirements that include bilinguals. [language]said Bates.
US products also have slightly different dosages.
“Even though it’s the same product ingredients, you have to take that into consideration when you bring it into Canada. , drug facts and precautions are slightly different.
Health Canada works to bring foreign products into the country amid shortages
Health Canada recently approved the importation of ibuprofen and acetaminophen from the United States and Australia, but only for hospital use. Work is underway to obtain a supply of
“I think it makes perfect sense from a supply chain perspective. [to supply hospitals first]We want to prioritize the highest risk areas in the system. Then other parts of the system will catch up,” Bates said.
We are considering whether the same imported product can be sold at drugstores and pharmacies.
“All necessary information, such as cautions and warnings, dosing instructions and information about ingredients, must be communicated clearly so that parents and caregivers can clearly understand the medicines they are giving their children,” said the Minister of Health. I have read a statement from the office of
Regarding the inclusion of bilingual instructions on the packaging, the Health and Welfare Minister’s Office of Statement said the language requirement “does not cause delays in getting these important medicines to parents and caregivers.”
Health Canada told CityNews it is working with manufacturers on additional proposals to make foreign products available in pharmacies.
“The department has committed to giving priority consideration to the proposal, assessing the safety, quality and efficacy of the proposed drug so that the product can be imported as soon as possible,” Health Canada said in a statement. I read
When asked if he thought it was a good idea to bring these products to Canada despite the lack of bilingual labeling, Bates said, “I don’t think there is an option.”
“We are in a situation of urgency and, on top of the COVID outbreak and respiratory illness, we are entering a very bad and serious cold and flu season with strep throat and earaches and ear infections. It leads to a bacterial infection. Pneumonia, it’s creating the perfect storm,” Bates explained.
“While this is a short-term measure, I believe the government needs to act urgently to bring these products into the gaming market,” he added.
Bates told CityNews he expects the winter to be a “bumpy road” when it comes to accessing these drugs.
“I think demand will remain quite high. I think it will be, but I think it will be an unstable situation during the winter.”
‘We are in an emergency’: Health Canada considers options to stock children’s medicine
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