Parents Report Struggle to Find Some Over-the-Counter Medications

Rady Children's Hospital said it has had "intermittent outages" but it has been able to manage the supply and inventory and provide for its patients

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

Between COVID-19, the flu and RSV, there are reports of shortages of some over-the-counter medications for children.

While supplies are low, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is not officially recognizing a shortage. Rady Children’s Hospital says it is managing the inventory, stocking up when supplies become available, given that a lot of people are getting sick this time of year.

Parent Velia Owino, her husband, and her four-year-old got sick with RSV. 

“We struggled to find just about every type of medicine,” she said, explaining how she went to pharmacies to look for cold and flu medications. "It’s just not available. It’s just not there, it's not on the shelves. It's empty.” 

"With the rise of the winter viruses, it seems as though some of the drugs that are commonly used to manage some of the symptoms of these illnesses have become harder to get," pharmacist-in-chief Doctor Ron D’Ullise told NBC 7.

That includes over-the-counter liquid formulations of medication like ibuprofen and acetaminophen to treat children, as well as prescription Tamiflu.  

But the problem is not limited to pharmacies.

“We try as best as we can to stock up when supplies become available,  but supplies are limited, so we're managing it, getting by at the moment," D’Ulisse said.

D’Ulisse said parents who cannot find the medications they need, should check with their child’s pediatrician or their local pharmacist for advice. Every child is different, and every medication is different too.

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