Amoxicillin, common kids’ antibiotic, remains in short supply

TO KNOW. BRIANNA MARIA THAT’S RIGHT. AMOXICILLIN IS THE MOST PRESCRIBED DRUG IN THE COUNTRY. LAST YEAR, PHARMACIES SAW A SHORTAGE OF THE DRUG DUE TO HIGH DEMAND AND WITH THE WINTER MONTHS APPROACHING, MANUFACTURE, JURORS ARE STILL TRYING TO RECOVER THE LIQUID FORM OF AMOXICILLIN IN LIMITED SUPPLY, ACCORDING TO THE FDA. WITH COLD AND FLU SEASON UPON US, THAT’S ESPECIALLY CONCERNING FOR PARENTS OF YOUNG CHILDREN WHO OFTEN CAN’T SWALLOW PILLS. BUT THE DRUG IS NOT IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND CURRENTLY. I DON’T SEE ANY SHORTAGE OF SELLING. IS A CAPSULE FORM AND THE LIQUID FORM AT UNION PHARMACY IN NEWTON CHEYENNE CHEN SAYS IT’S READILY AVAILABLE. I CHECK OUR INVENTORY REGULARLY, SEE HOW ONCE IT’S LOW, WE ALWAYS ORDER, ESPECIALLY LIKE FLU SEASON. LOTS OF PEOPLE GET SICK, ESPECIALLY KIDS BACK TO SCHOOL. SO WE ALWAYS HAVE THE MEDICATION ON THE SHELF, AMOXICILLIN IN LIQUID FORM IS TYPICALLY USED TO TREAT CHILDREN FOR STREP CHEST AND SINUS INFECTIONS AND EARACHES. EVEN IF YOU RUN COMPLETELY OUT OF AMOXICILLIN, THERE’S OTHER ANTIBIOTICS THAT CAN DO THE SAME KIND OF THING THAT CAN TREAT STREP THROAT AND THEY CAN TREAT EAR INFECTIONS. BUT THOSE ANTIBIOTICS ARE GENERALLY A LITTLE BIT STRONGER. SO WE TRY TO RESERVE THEM FOR WHEN WE REALLY NEED THEM. IN A STATEMENT, THE FDA SAYS IT CANNOT REQUIRE A PHARMACEUTICAL COMPANY TO MAKE A DRUG, MAKE MORE OF A DRUG OR CHANGE THE DISTRIBUTION OF A DRUG, BUT THAT IT IS WORKING CLOSELY WITH NUMEROUS MANUFACTURERS AGENCIES AND OTHERS IN THE SUPPLY CHAIN TO MITIGATE THE IMPACTS OF A SHORTAGE IF SUPPLY DOES BECOME LIMITED, CHEN TELLS US, THERE ARE SOLUTIONS. PHARMACISTS CAN DO AMAZING THINGS. THEY CAN COME. AMOXICILLIN FOUND THE POWDER TO THE LIQUID FOR THE KIDS. THE IMPORTANT THING HERE IS TO WORK WITH YOUR PHARMACIST. SOME STORES WILL HAVE IT, SOME WON’T. AND AS YOU HEARD THERE, YOU CAN GET CREATIVE AND THERE ARE OPTIONS IF IT ISN’

Common kids’ antibiotic, amoxicillin, remains in short supply

Updated: 6:58 PM EDT Sep 25, 2023

Amoxicillin, the most prescribed antibiotic in the country, is in short supply nationwide as parents and pediatricians look ahead to the coming respiratory illness season. Powdered versions of the drug, made to be blended into a suspension by a pharmacist, remain in short supply for a second winter, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage database.Several manufacturers reported the drug is still being produced but customers can order only a limited amount. Two of the manufacturers said the shortage is related to a “demand increase for the drug,” while others reported no reason to the database. “When there are these big surges in respiratory viral illness, in ear infections and all the things that come with the winter months of the last year or two, the demand has really outweighed what our supply chains can produce. And as a result, the shortages are cropping up all over the country and affecting our patients,” Dr. Rohan Khazanchi, a pediatrician and medical resident at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, recently told CNN.Khazanchi and a colleague recently studied the impact of last winter’s amoxicillin shortage. They found that prescriptions for the drug dropped by more than 90% after the shortage was declared in October. Many doctors switched to prescribing sometimes stronger antibiotics, but those substitutions can sometimes result in harsher side effects for patients and can contribute to antibiotic resistance.In a statement, the FDA said it “cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug, or change the distribution of a drug.” The agency said it is “working closely with numerous manufacturers, agencies, and others in the supply chain” to mitigate the impacts of a shortage.Not all pharmacies are affected by the shortage at a given time. Rhode Island-based CVS said that if one of their locations is out of stock, pharmacy staff can assist patients in finding the medication at another store.

MEDFORD, Mass. —

Amoxicillin, the most prescribed antibiotic in the country, is in short supply nationwide as parents and pediatricians look ahead to the coming respiratory illness season.

Powdered versions of the drug, made to be blended into a suspension by a pharmacist, remain in short supply for a second winter, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s drug shortage database.

Several manufacturers reported the drug is still being produced but customers can order only a limited amount. Two of the manufacturers said the shortage is related to a “demand increase for the drug,” while others reported no reason to the database.

“When there are these big surges in respiratory viral illness, in ear infections and all the things that come with the winter months of the last year or two, the demand has really outweighed what our supply chains can produce. And as a result, the shortages are cropping up all over the country and affecting our patients,” Dr. Rohan Khazanchi, a pediatrician and medical resident at Brigham & Women’s Hospital in Boston, recently told CNN.

Khazanchi and a colleague recently studied the impact of last winter’s amoxicillin shortage. They found that prescriptions for the drug dropped by more than 90% after the shortage was declared in October.

Many doctors switched to prescribing sometimes stronger antibiotics, but those substitutions can sometimes result in harsher side effects for patients and can contribute to antibiotic resistance.

In a statement, the FDA said it “cannot require a pharmaceutical company to make a drug, make more of a drug, or change the distribution of a drug.”

The agency said it is “working closely with numerous manufacturers, agencies, and others in the supply chain” to mitigate the impacts of a shortage.

Not all pharmacies are affected by the shortage at a given time. Rhode Island-based CVS said that if one of their locations is out of stock, pharmacy staff can assist patients in finding the medication at another store.

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