We figured this day would come, when basic medications were no longer plentiful. And now that it’s here, it is likely to affect some of the most vulnerable members of our population.
There’s a shortage of amoxicillin for children right now.
Amoxicillin is the most common drug used to treat things like ear infections, upper respiratory infections, and sinus infections in little ones, and the liquid type is very difficult to find right now in the United States of America.
The amoxicillin shortage
The Hill tells us that numerous large suppliers have been hit with “increased demand.”
Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Teva Pharmaceutical Industries and Sandoz, the generics division of Novartis, have all reported shortages of various doses of amoxicillin, which is most commonly used to treat bacterial infections in children.
The FDA’s website lists increased demand as the reason for shortages at Hikma and Teva, as well as Aurobindo and Rising.
A shortage at Sandoz was listed as “other.”
…The ASHP began reporting amoxicillin shortages about two weeks ago, but the FDA first reported a shortage on Oct. 28.
The FDA only lists drugs on its website once it has confirmed that “overall market demand is not being met by the manufacturers of the product.”
The amoxicillin used for children is generally shipped in a powder form and turned into a suspension at the pharmacy.
Why is there a shortage?
Many are blaming an uptick in pediatric RSV – or respiratory syncytial virus – infections for the shortage. While RSV is a viral infection and antibiotics are generally used for bacterial infections, there’s a reason it’s being prescribed so widely.
According to Farah Jalloul, director of professional development at the Michigan Pharmacists Association:
“RSV is a viral infection. Antibiotics are usually for bacterial infections,” Jalloul said. “We’ve been seeing that it has been prescribed as a secondary protection against any underlying bacterial infection in children with RSV.”
For example, Jalloul explained that in addition to RSV, a child also may have developed an ear infection or pneumonia, which could be treated with amoxicillin.
“Amoxicillin is one of the most dispensed antibiotics for children,” Jalloul said. “Demand for the drug is not meeting the supply during this time. With the level of infection that we’ve seen, I’m assuming that physicians are also seeing an underlying cause of a bacterial infection.”
RSV is most likely to strike children, elderly folks, and people with compromised immune systems.
Why is there an increase in RSV?
RSV is not tracked by the CDC, however, doctors and hospitals are informally reporting an uptick in cases. Dr. Hossein Sadeghi, a pediatric pulmonologist and director of the Sue and John L. Weinberg Cystic Fibrosis Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, suggests that the increased number of RSV patients might be related to a lack of immunity built in little ones during the lockdowns and masking of their early days.
…the rise could be due to the loosening of COVID-19 mitigation efforts, such as masking, social distancing, and limitations on travel. “Most children, by the time they were two years of age, had at least one episode of RSV infection, which helped them build immunity,” says Dr. Sadeghi, who is also an associate professor of pediatrics at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons. “That changed with pandemic precautions and isolations in the past few years.”
This isn’t surprising – many of us suspected the lockdowns and masking of the past two years would affect kids in many negative ways.
Officials say we shouldn’t worry
According to an article on The Washington Post, we shouldn’t worry too much about the shortage. (I wonder if that’s what they said in the early days of the formula shortage, too?)
The Post reports:
Parents filling their kids’ prescriptions may have to try a few pharmacies or end up with a different strength or form than originally prescribed, but amoxicillin in some form is generally still available, pharmacists said. The supply of the liquid version is most strained, along with some chewable tablets…
…“This is a sudden demand for amoxicillin that the suppliers were just not prepared for,” said Erin Fox, a senior pharmacy director at University of Utah Health who tracks drug shortages. “Logically, it makes sense. … Colds are going to come back with a vengeance, and people are going to get sick.”
The shortage isn’t at a crisis level and may be short-term, lasting as long as the season of illness does, based on data from manufacturers, said Michael Ganio, senior director for pharmacy practice and quality at the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Drugmakers have said they can fulfill their preplanned orders for the medicine but are struggling to meet the increased demand. Some said they were looking at whether they could increase production, though that can’t happen instantaneously.
What can we do about this shortage?
There are a few things you can do if you find yourself needing pediatric amoxicillin.
Get a written prescription from the doctor. If you have a written prescription, you can shop around at various pharmacies instead of having to get the doctor’s office to call it in to multiple different locations. This will save you time and frustration.
Call ahead. If you need to fill a prescription, call the pharmacy to make sure they have it in stock. It might be worth paying over the phone to secure your prescription.
Consider prepping for a wider antibiotic shortage. Check out the book Alton’s Antibiotics and Infectious Disease for Austere Conditions and look into fish antibiotics.
Have you seen evidence of this shortage?
These days, and after the past two years in particular, I find it difficult to trust anyone who says “Don’t worry, it’s no big deal. This is just a short-term issue.” Hopefully this is a minor blip on the radar, but it could also foreshadow worse things to come.
Is this happening locally where you are? Have you been able to acquire the needed medications? Do you think this will become a crisis? Why or why not?
I don’t take meds, but look for alternatives. I do have a lot of tinctures from Dr. Jones, who is both a veterinarian and Naturopathic Doctor at homegrownherbalist.net for various conditions. I also use medicinal teas. Neither my husband and I are on any pharma meds. I realize there are some people that need specific meds to say alive, but fortunately we don’t fall into that group. My husband has MMN, which is the first cousin to ALS. There is no “cure” and the treatments offered by the mainstream doctors have side effects worse than the disease. We choose natural remedies and that has worked for us.
Kudos to you and your husband. We use natural/alternative treatments as well. People get into the mindset that they HAVE to have the meds but fail to look at the underlying causes. My parents are great examples of this. They are in very poor health for their age and take a plethora of prescriptions. My mother was suffering from severe depression and had a sudden drastic increase in her blood pressure. I got a list of all her meds and realized her doctor had her on 4 different antidepressants. None of them should’ve been taken together as they can cause seratonin syndrome. A symptom of that is high bp. I had her talk to her dr about that and she shut her down and said we need to get your bp under control before we discuss anything else. She simply put her on bp meds. Many people are taking prescriptions to treat side effects from other prescriptions. It’s just really sad! Needless to say I found her a new doctor and she’s already reduce her meds drastically.
I’d like to point to other likely causes: overuse and overreliance on antibiotics in general when it’s not appropriate, doctors who can’t say “no” to parents braying for antibiotics when their precious little Madison/Cassidy/McKenna/Cody clearly has a viral infection, overuse of antibiotics in livestock, and a lack of new antibiotics in the drug pipeline.
I have a number of primary care doctors in the family, specifically an OB/GYN and a pediatrician (who is also a professor of medicine at UT-San Antonio). They all say parents pretty much can’t be rational when their child is sick and want EVERYTHING, including antibiotics even when inappropriate. They can’t be told to wait until the viral infection turns into a bacterial infection, when you need antibiotics. Oh, no. And many doctors just shrug their shoulders and give them what they want, contributing to shortages as well as make them less and less effective as time goes by.
And, look at the statistics, the MAJORITY of antibiotics in this country are fed to our animals, especially cows, chickens, pigs, etc., all so they can grow faster in filthier and more confined quarters. And then we eat those animals. This chemical convenience we’ve allowed in our meat, dairy, and egg supply comes at a cost: increasing ineffectiveness of those antibiotics, especially when we need them.
Antiobiotics, all of them, become less and less effective over time. That’s just how it is. The bugs are always evolving and we are only one or two steps ahead of them most of the time. People with serious infections, MRSA, strep, etc., are dying in hospitals these days as there are no more available antibiotics left to treat them with; those deaths wouldn’t have happened 20-30 years ago. We’re actually going backwards in this area, not forwards.
And, research into antibiotics isn’t sexy or particularly profitable for drug companies. The numbers of what it costs to develop them versus what they can make don’t add up for these privately owned, publicly traded businesses. Not when you can make sinful type bank on new boner pills, treatments for hair loss, or restless leg syndrome. The incentives just aren’t there.
Notice that almost all of this is our fault, collectively and individually. We overuse these drugs in ourselves when inappropriate and put masses of them in our food supply and then are surprised when they don’t work any more.
The fact that amoxicillin is being prescribed for RSV proves your point. Doctors are quick to prescribe antibiotics “just in case”. Not only does this cause future antibiotics to be less effective but antibiotics wreck your gut biome which can cause even more issues.
Agreed! I’ve been in hot pursuit of healing leaky gut for the past 10 plus years due to what I now know was antibiotic abuse early in my 20s to 40s. Sinus infections galore were the result of eating foods I was allergic to unbeknownst to me (no thanks to Drs).
This is a feature not a bug of the tendency to move all our manufacturing offshore including medicines and medical supplies. In 2004 Bristol Myers Sqibb closed their plant in easy Syracuse, NY which was the last plant in the US to manufacture key ingredients in antibiotics. Although reports seem to disagree on just where the majority of our medicines are made China and India seem to be top suppliers. I personally over the past 5-7 years have seen the script I was on for high blood pressure recalled several times for contaminants. It was manufactured in China and had to be switched to the same medicine but made in India.
All in the name of the dollar we have off shored our manufacturing many times to countries that are no friends of the United States. If you do not manufacture it then you cannot control the quality or the delivery of the products in question. We are now beginning to pay the full price for betting on JIT delivery from low cost/low quality overseas manufacturing as the global supply chains break down.
Donald Trump may have been wrong about many things but he was correct on the price to pay for off shoring all of our manufacturing and said so long beofre he ran for president. From nuclear reactor and electrical transmission key elements to clothing, foot wear, medicines and the list goes on forever we do not make it here any longer. What do you do when you have become nothing more than a servcie economy and there is nothing left to serve or service?
“What do you do when you have become nothing more than a servcie economy and there is nothing left to serve or service?”
you become a servant.
which is the plan.
As Preppers, we should already be using Alternatives to “modern” medicine and to it’s drugs. The Covid 19 debacle should have been a wake up call to anyone who still trusts or believes in “modern” medicine. The only time it is a necessary evil is in a true medical emergency. Where it might mean the difference in life or death.
A healthy lifestyle will produce a healthy immune system and that will fight off almost anything without their added drugs. Yet if you still need help, turn to the old ways(home remedies, chicken soup, etc.) of fighting sickness and herbal remedies.
For years doctors scoffed at the chicken soup remedy. Until some researchers actually looked at the chemical breakdown of the soup and found that it contained a substance that actually was useful in treatment of colds.
Doctors only “know,” what some one told them. The problem is; that most of their teachers were idiots! (and sold out to the drug companies).
When people get in 70’s on up, also do online research and try alternatives, they still may need drugs. I know diabetics (friends) who eat what they want and they could get off the insulin if they cg’d their diets. Husband has tachycardia (age 80) two leaking values has to take fluid pills and a beta blocker, synthroid also. Changing diets on various issues, taking herbs, don’t solve everything, but meds can be reduced in dosages by eating right and ditching junk foods incl cakes, pies, and soft drinks. I cut way back on carbs awhile back, finger O.A. has improved. Plus less expense @ grocery checkout. Bakery products incl most breads have empty calories.
First, if the “Officials” say “Not to worry,” then it’s a cause for concern. They’ve lied in the past, and frankly, that’s their Track Record.
Second, depending on reports, some say that about 97% of the Antibiotics used in America, comes from China. The FDA claims that’s an overestimate, but even if it’s only 50% or 75%, we’re still looking at a shortage that could very well be protracted.
Amoxicillin is the most prescribed antibiotic used for Prophylaxis (given in certain conditions with the theory that it will prevent bacterial infection in those conditions, Rheumatic Fever is a good example), and I’m not a big fan of Prophylaxis, simply because Long Term Antibiotic Therapy can, and often does, lead to Resistant Strains of Bacteria. MRSA (Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus), is believed by most researchers to be a direct result of the overprescribing of Antibiotics.
Getting a Doctor to prescribe you an Antibiotic to keep on hand, varies. Some are supportive and some are not (my Provider isn’t). Alternatives such as Aquarium Antibiotics are not without risks, mainly the question of purity.
An example of the purity question I know firsthand from working with it, is Oxygen.. Medical Oxygen, which is considered by the FDA as a drug, is required to have a purity of 99%. Industrial Oxygen, used in Welding, is only required to be 97.5% pure. Yet both cylinders of the two types, are filled from the same Bulk Liquid Oxygen Tank. The difference is only that the Medical Grade is tested for purity and potential contaminants, and the Industrial Grade isn’t tested to those standards. Knowing that, in an emergency, I wouldn’t hesitate to slap Industrial Oxygen on someone in crisis.
I’m speculating here, but I believe a similar situation exists between medications. Medications intended for human consumption are tested to a higher standard of purity than those used in aquariums. Is it enough to make a difference? That’s a judgement call you’ll have to make. If anyone on here knows more or has worked in the Pharmaceutical Industry, please share your knowledge with us. I’m sure it will be greatly appreciated by all.
If you Doctor is willing to prescribed antibiotics to keep on hand, request any that are used as a liquid or suspension be filled dry, not hydrated. Amoxicillin, and many other Antibiotics that are given as liquids, have a very short shelf life (less than one year). Unhydrated, they last much longer. Add the appropriate quantity of sterile water to the anhydrous powder when it’s needed.
Good luck, keep the faith and keep on prepping.
Thank you Daisy and crew for bringing up topics and ongoing and potential situations coming down the pike.
Shelf Life Extension Plan….SLEP …90 % of powdered antibiotics can last
8 to 15 years after expiration date if kept in a COOL DRY place like a
refrig. not frozen.. The US military commissioned study. Fish antibiotics
are the same, India supplies a lot more than China. How do I know this,
I worked for the military in this field…….
I have to admit, some of their medicines are very effective. Especially the pain killers and antibiotics.
That said, some of their medicines are also very ineffective, and dangerous, and often have the opposite effect of curing anything and can make things worse even sending you to the hospital
Don’t know what else to tell ya?
Perhaps if those eligible had received a flu and Covid vaccine, they’d might not be hospitalized. And no way of knowing how genetically strong they are or how healthy their mothers were when they were pregnant.
Face it, outbreaks of diseases are not stopping.
I suggest you do some research on your own instead of looking to mainstream media and google for your info. This isn’t information that’s easy to find because as we all know things are censored. Look for studies in other countries and you’ll find they are proving the opposite of what you’re stating. New information is coming out constantly. Also, the only people I know who were hospitalized with covid actually got the shots. There are only a handful of them but yes every single one got the shots.
GoodRx.com website or app will find the prices for you at your local pharmacies AND give you a coupon to lower the cost. Every time I go to the pharmacy, I check the price if paid by:
Insurance + copay
Pharmacy’s Club price + copay
GoodRx + copay
Cash
Which one is lowest is often a surprise. Sometimes the price one is $100 less than the other 3.
“…the rise could be due to the loosening of COVID-19 mitigation efforts…”
…Or could it be a side effect of the “vaccine?…”
Blame Anything But Vax (ABV)…
These kids’ immune systems are forever compromised. They are ticking time-bombs.
The Blood of JESUS was shed for ALL. The Gospel is the GOOD news of the Shed Blood of Jesus as the FINAL sacrifice for the sins of ALL man kind. The same BLOOD saves ALL who CALL on the Name of the LORD.
TODAY is the day of Salvation! Call on the Name of Jesus Christ- the ONLY one who can save
I John 5:1Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him.
Garlic, raw. I´ve swallow one or two pieces without the skin, and a spoon of honey. Usually doing that for a week could help in a natural way. I try to avoid taking antibiotics unless it´s strictly necessary: the industrial medical service I attended to for 15 years overdose us with them, to keep us back on our feet and working as soon as possible. Usually we would rest the weekend, and on Monday we should already be “cured”. I haven´t ingested them in years. One never knows when you could need them, and developing a resistance is bad for survival.
Besides man-made antibiotics, the best – and most underused natural antibiotic – is Colloidal Silver.
In spite of the negative information the FDA, most doctors, and many skeptics will tell you, Ionic, Nano-particle, Colloidal Silver is the safest, and most effective antibiotic that a person can use.
After much research, I bought a fairly expensive Colloidal Silver Generator which has been proven to produce the majority of nano-size particles in any given batch, and it costs less than a dollar per quart to make.
It should be used sparingly with small children, but in emergencies, an eye-dropper full can be used 3 or four times a day for a day or two in even toddlers.
In both, humans and animals, it can be used quite effectively to kill all sorts of bacterial infections.
I am now a very healthy 82 year old retired Army veteran who was in agent orange jungles a few times during two tours in VietNam. For many years after retiring, and after a bad oilfield accident, my health seemed to be on a downward spiral, and even to the point of feeling puny. But since 2020 I have been much healthier than ever before.
I have been consuming Ionic micro-particle colloidal silver daily, from a daily dose of two teaspoons – up to 4 ounces several times a day when necessary – {since March 2020} – depending on what I determined that may have been necessary to get rid of a cold, or whatever, but mostly just to keep my immunity built up.
In 2021 when I had Covid, I took 4 ounces three to four times a day, for two weeks.
I was one of 14 people who contracted RSV out of 19 old folks who were exposed to it for a week back in September this year. I had just a little burning sensation in my sinuses, and a slight cough, because I took an ounce twice a day for two weeks. Then I went back to my daily RfD of two teaspoons.
Colloidal Silver boosts the effectiveness of man-made antibiotics up to 1000 times – not a typo, nor exaggerated – a proven fact. Every bacteria that it has been clinically tested against, it has won the fight, to include MRSA.
Do the research. Try a 4 ounce bottle of Sovereign Silver from Amazon the next time you get a little cough or sinus infection. Then buy your own good generator.
Yes, colloidal is a proven fighter for MRSA…..saturate a gause pad with colloidal silver solution and apply it too the area of infection……3 to 5 days …..healed… Another good one is Oregano Oil for warts….saturate
a bandaid pad with Oregano oil …apply it to the wart …falls of in 2 too 3
days….and the best thing …..it never comes back…
We use colloidal silver as well. Spray on cuts, burns, bites. We use it as a nasal spray and ingest on a fairly regular basis, especially if we’ve been around a lot of people. It’s amazing! Both my doctor and dentist carry it and swear by it.
As a side note…..Amoxicillin shortage: are we going to have a Anthrax scare in the near future. Amoxicillin is used in prevention or treatment of curaneous transmission of Anthrax. I believe colloidal silver can also be used….