Alberta to bring in 5M bottles of children’s pain medication

Pharmacies in Alberta may soon be receiving shipments of children’s medication – something that’s been lacking for several months.

The Alberta government says it has secured another five million bottles of children’s fever and pain medication.

“What people need to know is that when their child gets sick, they have the medication available to them so they can treat the symptoms at home,” said Premier Danielle Smith.

It comes as rates of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV and influenza have skyrocketed in Canada in recent weeks.

“We want to make sure parents have access to the medication they need, because if they can’t break a fever they end up in hospital rooms, and that is what is causing pressures on our hospitals, not just here but across the country,” added the Alberta premier.

Smith says the government is working with Alberta Health Services and Health Canada to bring in the pediatric acetaminophen and ibuprofen.

“Each bottle will be available to pharmacies at a price that allows them to sell it at the average retail price, this is to make sure the medication remains affordable to Alberta families,” said Minister of Health Jason Copping.

The Alberta Pharmacists’ Association says it alleviates some concern for pharmacists.

“Since this past summer, pharmacists have been struggling to meet this demand,” said Margaret Wing, the group’s CEO. “Pharmacists have used their expertise and enhance scope of practice to mitigate the impact of this shortage, by requiring bulk supplies, or sourcing ingredients, prescribing alternative medication and compounding medicines.”

David Shepherd, the Alberta NDP Critic for Health, called it “a positive step in improving pediatric medicine in Alberta.”

WATCH: ‘I’ve never seen it this bad’: Pharmacies continue to face medicine shortages

Pharmacies still waiting on earlier shipment

Parents in Alberta – and across Canada – have been hunting for children’s medication for months amid a shortage.

The federal government imported one million units of children’s acetaminophen – commonly known as Tylenol – across the country late last month.

Health Canada has distributed the children’s Tylenol to retailers and has also sent children’s ibuprofen – commonly known as Advil – to hospitals.

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But Maggie Ziden, the owner of the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in downtown Edmonton, says her pharmacy only received three bottles of children’s acetaminophen.

“And that is what they seem to have allocated to my location,” she said. “It’s gotten to the point where we don’t know what to do anymore. We don’t know how to make sure our patients are well taken care of in terms of giving them the medications that they need.”

“It’s really bad, and it’s just getting worse, and I don’t think we’ve seen the last of it yet,” added Ziden, prior to Tuesday’s provincial announcement. “The shortages have just cascaded downhill.”

Victor Wong, the pharmacy owner at Clareview Drug Mart in Edmonton, says he has yet to receive any medicine from the government.

“I have heard of some pharmacies who received a shipment, but when we look at our suppliers, it looks like nobody has any stock,” he said. “And from the past couple of weeks we haven’t gotten any shipments.”

WATCH: Pharmacists addressing shortage of children’s meds

Other medication in short supply

Both pharmacists say children’s cold and cough medicine is no longer the only thing in short supply.

“It’s not just limited to the seasonal cough and cold antibiotics, it’s extended to blood pressure medications, pain management medications, and even something as simple as ensure boosts for the homeless population,” said Ziden.

Even compounding pharmacies like Clareview Drug Mart, who have the ability to produce their own medicine, are running low on inventory.

“We actually order the powders in, and we make it into a solution the kids can administer, but we are getting less stock of the Tylenol and Advil powder, so it’s been getting harder to get that too,” said Wong. “We’re just trying our best to supply our families who don’t have any of that.”

Ziden has been in the industry for 34 years and says she has never seen it this bad before. She says she’s been outsourcing from large chain pharmacies in order to keep some product on her pharmacy shelves.

“A lot of these companies have access to the US stock directly whereas the smaller guys like ourselves have to go through the wholesaler who is allocating the supplies that we can and cannot get,” she said.

—With files from The Canadian Press