As a result of an increase in respiratory viruses, including the flu and respiratory syntactical virus, as well as COVID-19 cases, some drugstore chains are restricting purchases of pain relievers and fever-reducing medications for children.
According to the Washington Examiner, for online purchases, CVS limits customers to two pediatric pain relief medications per transaction, while Walgreens limits customers to six pediatric fever-reducing products per transaction.
In-store and online, Target limits children’s pain relief medications to two products. Children’s Tylenol and Motrin are limited to five products at Rite Aid online. Currently, Walmart does not have any limits on pediatric medications.
As noted by CBS, there are supply problems for a number of common cold and flu medications, including children’s Tylenol, Motrin, and Advil.
As a result of the trio of illnesses circulating simultaneously, pharmacists are warning consumers not to stockpile medications, which could exacerbate supply shortages.
Increasing respiratory illnesses are straining the healthcare system. In recent weeks, some hospitals have been managing higher-than-average volumes of flu and RSV cases, with capacity remaining at or near full.
It is shameful and beyond disgraceful that parents in the United States have to worry about running out of much-needed children’s medicine due to increasingly high demand caused by a tripledemic among our youth. Many families are left in panic mode, unable to access common cold and flu medications such as Tylenol, Motrin, or Advil for their children. This shortage makes the United States look like it has become a third world country. The needs of our most vulnerable citizens – children – need to be addressed right away. Lawmakers must take steps to make sure shortages like this never happen again so that parents no longer have to worry about providing basic needs for their children.
