In addition to groceries, baby formula, microchips, and cold medicine for children, supply chain issues have arisen and grown into crises under President Biden’s administration. Despite this, doctors and those who rely on such medical interventions are warning of worsening shortages in drug supplies used to treat cancers.
Axios reported Tuesday that shortages of critical drugs are “the worst they’ve been in a decade” as a result of quality control issues, plant closures, and other manufacturing problems. Oncology drugs have been hit particularly hard in recent months as a result.
Among the medicines running critically low or being rationed are 3 chemotherapy drugs. Also, a life-extending drug used in cases of metastatic prostate cancer has run out and won’t be available to patients for months, Axios added. Additionally, BCG, which is used to treat bladder cancer, was “rationed or not available at all.”
So, what is the Biden administration doing? As reported by Axios, the FDA Chief Medical Officer Hilary Marston explained that her agency “works with manufacturers as much as possible, such as quickly approving acceptable workarounds,” but that doesn’t seem to be working — as evidenced by rationing and exhaustion of supplies.
As a result, the Biden administration is more reactive than proactive in ensuring Americans have access to life-saving or life-extending drugs. If these steps they claim are being taken now to increase production, why weren’t those steps taken before the supply of necessary medications had entirely run out or necessitated rationing?
All the while, Biden and his administration have sought to avoid talking about their failures.
Earlier this month, Biden’s press secretary Karine Jean Pierre chuckled when asked about the large number of medication shortages under the Biden administration.
Meanwhile, Biden himself tried to play ignorant, claiming that no one knew about supply chains until recently.
All in all, another looming shortage seems to have been overlooked by the Biden administration. It waited until supplies were too low to intervene in a way that would sustain enough drug supplies for treatment, and now it is scrambling to address a growing — potentially deadly — crisis. Without an adequate supply of medical treatments, countless lives may be lost due to this preventable tragedy. It is essential that immediate steps are taken to ensure that all citizens have access to the necessary medications they need and deserve. Only then can we ensure that no one is left behind when it comes to life-saving treatments.
