More than one million bottles of painkillers for children will arrive in Canada starting next week, the federal government said in an update on the drug shortages that have hit the country.
Chief medical adviser Dr. Supriya Sharma told reporters Friday that Health Canada is exploring “all levers” at its disposal to remedy the situation, understanding that this is a “very difficult” situation for parents and health care providers.
“While drug shortages continue to make headlines, we are working tirelessly behind the scenes to end the shortage. It will take time, but things will improve as we begin to see the results of increased product production Canadians of acetaminophen and ibuprofen supplemented by the flow of foreign products coming into the country,” he said.
The supply will be given to hospitals, community pharmacies and retailers and will start appearing on store shelves early next week, Sharma said. Products included in the newly purchased supply include liquid ibuprofen and liquid acetaminophen for children.
Canada’s drug shortage began as early as last spring, CTVNews.ca has reported. There are hundreds of medications that are running out of stock or are now completely out of stock, and the problem goes beyond children’s medication.
Three major viruses circulating now – RSV, influenza and COVID-19 – are leading to full hospitals and overcrowded pediatric ICUs, especially in Ontario.
Health Canada has been meeting with stakeholders, including manufacturers, retailers and health professionals on a weekly basis to “share information and strategies,” Sharma said.
He also said supply proposals are also being evaluated and all proposals received will be reviewed to ensure they meet Health Canada’s standards for efficacy and safety. So far there have been three approved proposals to import foreign medicines and the supply is now entering the country.
OTTAWA UNDER PRESSURE TO SOLVE CHESS
According to the agency, there are 800 drugs in short supply and 23 at critically low levels.
Amid the various diseases circulating, Ottawa has come under increasing pressure in recent weeks from the provinces and the federal opposition to take action against drug shortages. Conservatives have asked the feds to allow the sale of drugs with foreign language labels.
Health Canada said this week that for the incoming supply, “all information related to precautions and warnings, dosage instructions, ingredients and other important details will be available in both English and French to ensure that parents and caregivers understand clearly what medicine they are using and how to give it to their children”.
Since the importation of medicines began, hospitals are now seeing a “fairly stable” supply of children’s pain medicines as products that have been imported have already been supplied, Sharma told reporters. Bilingual product labeling has not slowed access, he said.
When asked why Health Canada did not take action earlier this year to import drugs when shortages appeared in the spring, Sharma said there was an initial consultation with the community and stakeholders to understand the demand and the problems
Manufacturers believed that increased supply could help meet demand, which appeared to mitigate the problem earlier this year. But by the end of the summer, the government had to consider importing as demand increased, he said.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s director of public health, said at Friday’s news conference that COVID-19 continues to circulate across the country and RSV levels are higher than expected for this time of year. of the year
RSV and influenza are “having a huge impact on children,” Tam said. Although hospitals are seeing high revenues related to these diseases, there is no vaccine available. Vaccinating children with available vaccines, such as the flu and COVID-19 vaccine, is important, he explained.
Tam also said that wearing a mask and washing hands, along with staying home when sick, is critical
“One of the biggest challenges of having multiple respiratory viruses circulating at the same time is the large and sudden increase in disease that could overwhelm the healthcare system,” he said.
Jen Belcher, an Ottawa-based pharmacist and vice-president of strategic initiatives and member relations for the Ontario Pharmacists Association, told CTV’s Your Morning on Friday that there are fears the shortage could continue for months.
“The antibiotics that are commonly used for chest infections, ear infections…that’s been a real challenge for parents [to find] as they navigate the respiratory virus season with very few options,” he said.
The reasons for the shortage are “complex,” including a combination of demand, supply chain disruptions and manufacturing disruptions, he said, suggesting that drug manufacturing must be prioritized moving forward.
Many pharmacy shelves have been left empty and out of allergy medicine for children, pain relievers for children and now cough and cold syrup for adults, eye drops and some oral antibiotics, according to industry experts.
Several pharmacists across Canada have said the problem is only getting worse.
With files from The Canadian Press, CTV Toronto, CTV Kitchener and CTV News Senior Digital Parliamentary Reporter Rachel Aiello