Ontario drugstores facing shortages of common children’s pain relievers

Pharmacists say there’s a shortage of some children’s pain and fever medication and both supply chain interruptions and an unexpected summer spike in respiratory illnesses are contributing to the problem.

The company that owns Advil, Haleon tells CHCH News that “manufacturers in Canada and around the world have been impacted by significant supply chain issues, with particular emphasis on shortages of packaging, raw materials, and labour.”

The Emergency Services Head at McMaster Children’s Hospital, Dr. Christopher Sulowski says the demand for fever medications for kids is abnormally high this summer.

“I can’t remember ever in my career a year where I told someone in the middle of August that their child has influenza or has the flu,” Dr. Sulowski said.

Dr. Sulowski says Ontarians’ precautions against COVID-19 in the winter may have played a part in the virus-filled summer we’re experiencing now.

“There was definitely a time in the middle of the pandemic when our pediatric ER was not busy at all… I think that was a reflection of masking and limiting the spread of not only the coronavirus, but all other viruses,” Dr. Sulowski said.

Parents can still access the medicine they need for their children. The vice president of the Ontario Pharmacists Association says pharmacists can dispense liquid acetaminophen from stock bottles and chewable tablets are available for kids. No prescription is needed.