SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Got pain meds? Many families with sick kids in the Bay Area don't, and they're getting desperate.
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The winter virus season is beginning early this year, leading to nearly empty store shelves at local pharmacies.
At a CVS store in Oakland's Dimond District, the children's pain relief section has been decimated. A sign stands in front of the empty shelves for children's Tylenol reading, "sorry the supplier is temporarily unable to supply this product."
The shortage comes as more kids fall ill with the flu, COVID-19 and RSV. "I could start to see cold signs in my kids and I had heard that there were shortages, so I just went and bought a bunch of boxes," Katie Hennessey told KCBS Radio.
Hennessey said she doesn't like hoarding medicine, but it's better than the alternative. "I don't want to end up in a hospital trying to get it there. That's what I'm trying to avoid," she said.
"It's happening everywhere, it is widespread," Dr. Yvonne Moldonado, professor of global health and infectious diseases at Stanford, said if you can't find children’s pain medicines, "I want to make sure that people don’t go to adult medications for children," she advised. "I think that's not a safe thing to do."
If kids are sick, Moldonado said families should make sure they are comfortable and well hydrated. So far, the FDA has not officially reported a shortage of children's medications.
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