Flu, RSV, COVID-19 ‘tripledemic’ leads to medication shortages

Medication shortage overview: 

• Who: Consumers report shortages of medications such as Tylenol, Motrin and Advil, among others, this respiratory virus season. 
• Why:  The medication shortage is due to a higher number of people getting sick with flu, RSV and COVID-19 earlier in the respiratory virus season than anticipated or normal. 
• Where: The medication shortage is nationwide, with the most-affected areas located near the Canadian border.

Consumers may want to take extra steps to prevent getting sick this “tripledemic” respiratory virus season, with reports of medication shortages, including Tylenol, Motrin, Advil and various antibiotics, intersecting with the triple threat of the flu, COVID-19 and RSV. 

The medication shortage is making it more difficult to treat common child-afflicting viruses such as flu, sore throat and ear infections, with families reportedly searching long and hard to fulfill prescriptions, CNN reports. 

Tylenol, meanwhile, addressed the medicine shortage with a notice posted to the top of its webpage for its cold and flu medicines while reassuring consumers that, while it may be harder to find, that it is not experiencing a widespread shortage of Children’s Tylenol. 

“We recognize this may be challenging for parents and caregivers and are doing everything we can to make sure people have access to the products they need,” Tylenol writes. 

Medication shortage not related to manufacturing, supply chain issues

In addition to medications used to treat the flu and other respiratory viruses, including the aforementioned RSV and COVID-19, there is also reportedly a shortage of the inhaler drug albuterol. 

The shortage is not related to any issues with manufacturing or supply chains but instead appears to stem from a higher demand for the drugs, with more people getting sick with respiratory viruses sooner in the season, CNN reports. 

Influenza is the main contributor to the medication shortage with eight flu hospitalizations for every 100,000 people while RSV also reportedly plays a significant role, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. 

Doctors recommend several ways to avoid getting sick this respiratory virus season, with one physician’s main sickness prevention advice being to simply stay away from individuals who are ill, Yale Medicine reports. 

The cumulative hospitalization rate for the flu at this point in the respiratory virus season is higher than in more than 10 years, with GoodRx.com revealing that prescription fills for Tamiflu are at a 10-year high for the time period in the season, CNN reports. 

Other medications in higher demand include pediatric internal analgesics such as acetaminophen and ibuprofen, with sales of the drugs up 26% year-over-year in October, NPR reports.

Areas most affected by medication shortage located near Canadian border

Areas close to the Canadian border, including the Buffalo-Rochester area in western New York, have reportedly been hit hardest by the medication shortage, with medicine sales up 53% year-over-year in October. 

The medication shortage near the Canadian border can likely be traced back to an ongoing shortage of children’s pain and fever medications in Canada, NPR reports. 

Consumers reportedly found low supplies of children’s fever reducers in CVS, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and a Giant supermarket all located in Washington D.C.

Pharmaceutical companies reportedly responded to the medication shortage by increasing production to fulfill demand after orders made earlier in the year failed to foresee how much medicine would be needed, CNN reports. 

Manufacturers, meanwhile, have reportedly said that they have enough of the medication in stock and are currently working to swiftly get them to retail locations, The Washington Post reports. 

Have you recently struggled to find medicine to treat a respiratory virus? Let us know in the comments! 

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