Nicole Ireland, The Canadian Press
Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos announced on Friday that the one million units of painkillers for children expected from abroad are starting to arrive in pharmacies, and that 500,000 additional units have been ordered and should arrive in the country. over the next few weeks.
Minister Duclos indicated Friday morning at a press conference that another delivery of pediatric analgesics from Australia is also being sent to hospitals, and that the national production of pediatric analgesics has increased.
Parents across Canada have been scrambling for weeks to manage fever and pain in their little ones as cases of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and seasonal flu soar amid severe shortages of acetaminophen and ibuprofen for children.
The federal Department of Health said last week that the one million units imported will be nearly identical to drugs licensed in Canada, typically sold under the brand names Tylenol and Advil.
“In some places, the units are already on the shelves. At other locations, it might take regarding a day longer, Duclos said Friday morning. We anticipate that over the next week, availability will be quite visible on pharmacy shelves across the country.”
The Canadian Pharmacists Association has confirmed to The Canadian Press that new shipments have started to arrive and it expects the products to be on drugstore shelves over the next few days and into next week.
Emergency drug imports spread across Canada are not enough to address the shortage, pharmacists noted, so it is important to avoid stockpiling unnecessarily.
“Most pharmacies have per capita purchase limits, keep these products behind the counter, ask people to only buy what they need,” said Shelita Dattani, vice president of pharmaceutical affairs at the Neighborhood Pharmacy Association of Canada.
Minister Duclos said that in addition to emergency imports, domestic production is increasing to meet demand, noting that more than 1.1 million units of children’s Advil were manufactured by producer Haleon in November. only for the Canadian market.
Ms. Dattani said that these units are first directed to hospitals, then to neighborhood pharmacies.
Dr. Theresa Tam, Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, said COVID-19, RSV and influenza virus continue to circulate at high levels. Although RSV activity seems to have stabilized these days, Dr. Tam expects it to still be elevated over the next few weeks.
Separately, there are reports of a “sharp increase” in influenza activity, affecting an unusually high number of children and adolescents, she said. Children’s hospitals in Canada are reporting a “sharp increase” in seasonal flu-related hospitalizations among young people 16 and under, Dr. Tam added.
There is no vaccine for RSV, but Dr. Tam urged Canadians to get their seasonal flu shot and stay up to date on their COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as take other infection control precautions such as staying home when sick, wearing a mask and washing hands.
The government of Quebec also announced Friday that the vaccine once morest influenza was now offered free of charge to all residents, regardless of their age or condition.
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This dispatch has been produced with the financial assistance of the Canadian Medical Association.
