The ongoing scarcity of critical medications has trapped Americans between a rock and a hard place.
Securing medication is also a challenge for those managing chronic illnesses.
Jennifer, a Waterford, Michigan, resident who asked that her last name not be disclosed, told The Epoch Times that she was only recently able to start taking her Type 2 diabetes medication again after being stranded without it for the second time since July 2022.
She started taking Ozempic again on Dec. 10, after being unable to fill her prescription for weeks.
Ozempic is one of the many drugs affected by current shortages; that’s reportedly due, in part, to Ozempic’s off-label use as a weight-loss supplement. The manufacturer, Novo Nordisk, lists the official reason for the shortage as “increased demand.”
“The pharmacist told me it’s on back order and, ‘You need to call around to see if other stores or pharmacies have it in stock.’ And I’m like, no, that’s your job,” Jennifer said.
She was noticeably frustrated—there are physical consequences of having gaps in her medication. In addition to managing her A1C levels, the drug comes with unpleasant side effects for some patients, which take time to wear off.
One of these is extreme lightheadedness, which Jennifer has encountered each time she’s restarted taking Ozempic after enduring a usage gap. She said she gets dizzy to the point of feeling like she’s about to “pass out” after resuming the medication.
“I haven’t taken it for weeks, and now I’m having a reaction [side effects] since it’s all been flushed out of my system,” she said.
Unpleasant side effects aside, Jennifer says she feels like she doesn’t have a choice other than to ride out the medication gaps when they happen, because the drug has helped manage her diabetes so well.
“Americans can’t trust communist China and can’t allow any reliance on Xi’s evil regime for life-saving medicine,” Mr. Scott said.
Currently, the United States leans heavily on other countries to manufacture key starting materials (KSM) and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API), which are the critical building blocks of pharmaceuticals.
He said the company is also making KSMs and “rebuilding a resilient domestic supply chain.”
Plans to achieve this include expanding the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under Title III of the DPA. Some of these changes include $35 million for investments in domestic production of KSMs for sterile injectable medications. Additionally, the HHS will designate a new supply chain resilience and shortage coordinator in an attempt to address medication and other supply chain shortages.
But those who work in the trenches of health care say these efforts are a drop in the bucket compared to what’s needed and that barriers to increased U.S. drug manufacturing won’t be easy to overcome at either a legislative or a logistical level.
Dr. Jared Ross, the president of Emergency Medical Services, Education & Consulting LLC, and a medical director at the Henry Ford College paramedic program, says foreign API production isn’t the root of the problem.
“The larger issue is with key starting materials, which are used to make the APIs,” he told The Epoch Times.
“We need to bring KSM manufacturing back to the United States.”
In his work, he sees the effects of drug shortages up close and personal.
“The hospital where I do most of my clinical work has experienced several shortages. We are conserving injectable penicillin to treat syphilis, which means we have to use oral medications for strep throat, which are less effective and harder to administer to young children,” he said.
Dr. Ross rattled off a list of adaptations he’s seen as part of the fallout of America’s drug shortages in hospitals. He noted that high concentrations of ketamine are in short supply, limiting the ability to give it as an “intramuscular injection, forcing us to start unnecessary and painful IVs or use alternative medications that aren’t as safe.”
He said that certain IV benzodiazepine medications such as lorazepam and midazolam are scarce, forcing health care professionals to use diazepam, also known as valium, to treat seizures.
It’s a scenario Dr. Ross describes as “less than ideal.”
He said bringing KSM manufacturing to the United States is logistically complicated and cost-prohibitive. He maintains that the current cost factor is “insurmountable” due to regulatory compliance, especially in the environmental sector.
“We need less government regulation and more free-market solutions,” he said, noting that throwing a few hundred million dollars at the problem by any administration isn’t a real solution and that America needs to “cut out the red tape.”
Dr. Ross said the issue of drug shortages is often viewed through the lens of “essential medication production,” but he believes it’s a symptom of a larger decline in U.S. manufacturing, which he asserts hasn’t been able to stay as competitive amid “burdensome” regulations.
“We will have to accept increased labor costs. But there is a lot that we, our government, can do to decrease compliance costs,” he said.
Practicing clinician Chris McDermott, founder of Intercoastal Consulting & Life Care Planning, told The Epoch Times that drug manufacturers dragging their heels on domestic production doesn’t help the situation.
“In my professional journey, it’s become apparent that the reluctance of drug manufacturers to shift production domestically is not solely due to legislation. An often overlooked aspect is the complexity of retooling existing facilities,” Mr. McDermott said.
He noted that “significant investment and time” will be required to ramp up manufacturing within the United States and could disrupt current production models for some manufacturers.
“Patient stories are both a source of inspiration and a stark reminder of the tangible consequences of medication shortages,” Mr. McDermott said. He said he has encountered “numerous cases where patients have faced dire consequences due to the unavailability of essential medications.”
“These instances highlight the urgent need for comprehensive strategies to address and prevent drug shortages, placing patient well-being at the forefront,” he said.
Dr. Kelvin Fernandez, a tutor and medical residency advisor at Ace Med Boards, agrees with this assessment.
“Both legislative aspects and reluctant drug manufacturers play important roles in the lack of progress,” he told The Epoch Times.
“Navigating bureaucracies can be arduous, and companies might hesitate due to increased costs associated with domestic manufacturing.”
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