‘Severe Shortages’ of Tamiflu, Other Medications Reported Across US

A package of Tamiflu in a file image. Mario Tama/Getty Images

A number of groups, hospitals, and doctors have issued warnings about shortages of amoxicillin, Tamiflu, albuterol, and other medications.

Amoxicillin is used to treat bacterial infections including strep throat, whooping cough, and some urinary tract infections; antiviral Tamiflu is one of the most common flu medications in the United States; and albuterol is an inhaler used for asthma. It comes in the midst of a reported spike in influenza and RSV among children across the United States in recent weeks.

All four drugs are in short supply, said the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) on its database.

“In my 25 years of being a pediatrician, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Minnesota-based pediatric infectious disease specialist Dr. Stacene Maroushe told CNN. “I have seen families who just aren’t getting a break. They have one viral illness after another. And now there’s the secondary effect of ear infections and pneumonia that are prompting amoxicillin shortages.”

Sandoz, which makes amoxicillin, confirmed a shortage of the drug in a statement several weeks ago.

“The combination in rapid succession of the pandemic impact and consequent demand swings, manufacturing capacity constraints, scarcity of raw materials, and the current energy crisis means we currently face a uniquely difficult situation,” the company stated.

Amoxicillin

As for amoxicillin, one of the most commonly used prescription drugs, a nationwide shortage is expected to last several months, warned the American Academy of Pediatrics several days ago. But Amoxicillin tablets, capsules, or chew tabs for children “have NOT been impacted by the shortage,” the group said.

Prescription fills for Tamiflu are elevated for this time of year, says GoodRx, a firm that helps people find prescription drug discounts. A number of different Tamiflu, or oseltamivir, products are impacted, according to the ASHP.

“Right now, we are having severe shortages of medications. There’s no Tamiflu for children. There’s barely any Tamiflu for adults. And this is brand-name and generic,” Renae Kraft, a pharmacist in Oklahoma City. She added that “as far as antibiotics go, there’s not a whole lot.”

Extra Strength Tylenol is displayed in a drugstore in Washington, D.C., on July 5, 2006. Brendan Smialowski/Getty Images

Data provided by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows that well over half of U.S. states have “high” or “very high” influenza activity.

“Anytime respiratory viruses kick up, people start prescribing antibiotics, even inappropriately, and that’s created a lot of demand. That wasn’t anticipated by the manufacturers of amoxicillin, so that’s led to shortages,” Dr. Amesh Adalja, a senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, said.

Tylenol?

There have also been reports of stores running out of children’s Tylenol, which is used to bring down fevers.

“Just too much demand for the current supply,” Buffalo, New York pharmacist Don Arthur told local media. “I think unfortunately with RSV, every flu season we deal in our community with the common flu, we deal with colds, we deal with RSV, but we still have COVID in smaller levels. … It’s still present, and now it seems we have a bit of a spike with RSV.”

Last week, local pharmacists in Connecticut reported kids’ Tylenol shortages. “This issue’s been going on for like 6 months now and it’s pervasive right now,” Greg McKenna, owner of Nutmeg Pharmacy, told WSFB.

But Johnson & Johnson, which produces Tylenol, said there are no shortages in the United States but said there are low supply issues in Canada.

“We are not experiencing shortages of children’s Tylenol in the United States,” Johnson & Johnson told the Daily Mail. “There is increased consumer-driven demand for our children’s pain reliever products in certain regions and we’re taking all possible measures to ensure product availability.”

On social media, some people wrote they’ve had difficulty finding Augmentin, a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanic acid. About a week ago, Bloomberg News reported that three pharmaceutical companies that make the drug limited supply, and it has been in short supply for nearly a month in the United States. According to the ASHP, it’s not currently listed in low supply as of Nov. 28.

Made in China?

In 2019, officials issued warnings that a number of pharmaceutical drugs sold and used in the United States are made in China, prompting calls to rebuild domestic manufacturing capacity.

After COVID-19 spread from China in early 2020, a Senate-issued report (pdf) from Rosemary Gibson in March of that year warned that Chinese firms make about 90 percent of the worldwide supply of inputs need to make generic antibiotics such as amoxicillin.

Speaking to The Epoch Times in March 2020, Gibson said that “thousands” of drugs that are used in the United States are made in China, including the most common ones.

About “90 percent of those core materials, the raw materials come from China,” she said at the time. “So this is, and these are standard medicines used in any hospital intensive care unit for all kinds of patients. So that really shows the concentration of our supply chain in a single country.”