Dec 9, 2022 3 min read

Parents who have been sweating through months of shortages of formula for their babies now have something new to worry about.

Thanks to a surge in cases of the flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus – RSV, for short – shelves at pharmacies have largely been stripped bare of over-the-counter medicine that reduces fever, aches and pains. Shortages of Motrin and Tylenol have been reported nationally, and some local pharmacists say they’ve come up empty-handed when they have tried to order it from wholesalers.

“It’s a combination of a lot of things going on now,” said Scott Adamson, a pharmacist at McCracken Pharmacy in Waynesburg. He also said it’s been “a terrible flu season,” and supplies of remedies like Tamiflu have been tough to get.

It’s been a month since the pharmacy has received any Motrin or Tylenol for children, Adamson explained, and while they have some on hand, “we’re rationing it.”

A parent in Penn Hills eager to get their hands on medicine drove all the way to Lizza’s Apothecare Pharmacy in Uniontown to get some, according to Amy Lizza, one of the pharmacy’s proprietors. She said that two different wholesalers have reported they have none in stock.

“What we have, we really can’t get in stock,” Lizza said.

And there’s not a solid indication when supplies will be replenished, said Kathy Vermilya of the Medicine Shoppe in Washington.

“It’s a scary time,” Vermilya said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported earlier this week that it is seeing its highest level of flu hospitalizations in a decade. Experts say that RSV and the flu have been more prevalent this year because children did not have the ability to build immunity during the depths of the COVID-19 pandemic, when schools were closed and social distancing ruled the day. Now that COVID restrictions have fallen away, the viruses are spreading more rapidly and aggressively. The viruses will also have more of an opportunity to spread as the weather gets colder and people spend more time indoors.

Medical professionals say that, if a parent or guardian is unable to get a pain reliever like Motrin or Tylenol for their children, they can still take steps to make them more comfortable, including keeping a child’s room cool and sponging them with tepid water. Using adult-strength aspirin is not advised.

They also say the tactics that were deployed when the COVID-19 was at its worst are effective in slowing the spread of other viruses – namely, vaccination, hand-washing and mask-wearing. There is not yet a vaccine for RSV, but recent clinical trials have yielded promising results.