Supply still can't meet demand for children's cold and flu meds ahead of holidays

Supply of children's cold and flu medication has increased in the past couple weeks — including a foreign shipment — but it's still not enough to meet demand as illness spreads ahead of the holiday season, according to the Ontario Pharmacists Association.

Renu Pillay, owner and pharmacist at Whole Health Compounding Pharmacy, said unlike some other pharmacies he can compound and dispense acetaminophen and other medications for children and infants from adult medications. 

That means he and other compounding pharmacies can help families during supply shortages.

"There's been a big demand [for compounded medication] over the last two months or so. It seems to have eased off a little but it's still there," Pillay said. "There's lots of people looking and cannot get Tylenol or Advil." 

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The Ontario Pharmacists Association said there has been more supply in the past couple weeks, which includes a foreign shipment courtesy of the government, but it's still not enough to curb the shortage.

"The current supply does not meet demand and the vast majority of the products are not available for pharmacies to replenish on an as-needed basis," said Jen Belcher, vice president of strategic initiatives and member relations with the pharmacists association.

Belcher said it's hard to predict when the shortage will end. She said Canadian plants are currently operating to produce twice their normal volume but demand continues to outpace that.

Recommendation is to limit supply

Belcher said many pharmacies in Ottawa are following the recommendation to limit the amount of medication parents can buy to reduce stockpiling and further shortages. 

At Whole Health, Pillay said his shipment of children's Tylenol and Advil is usually limited to one or two bottles at a time, which limits what customers can buy off the shelf.

He does have some bottles of generic acetaminophen that he can dispense in smaller doses to parents, he said. Now that supply is dwindling, too.

"Even that is going to run out soon and then we're going to have to go back to compounding, which will be more of a challenge again," he said.

Pillay has been kept busy with vaccinations in recent weeks, including a lot of parents bringing their children to get protection against the flu and COVID-19.

In a series of tweets, Ottawa Public Health said Wednesday that influenza is down compared to last week and COVID-19 and RSV levels remain the same, but a high level of respiratory illness continues to circulate in Ottawa. 

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