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Drug shortages are barely a new phenomenon - although they have certainly made the headlines this year. In the United States, people have already struggled to fulfill certain prescriptions for Medicines like Adderall and amoxicillin, with the Food and Drug Administration of the United States (FDA) confirming continuous shortages. But it is not only prescribed pills that become more difficult to secure. Now many patients report problems finding cold and over -the -counter colds (OTC) in popular pharmacies. Read the rest to find out why these essential treatments are rare.

Read this then: Walgreens and CVS close pharmacies and reduce the hours .

If you head for your local CVs or Walgreens to alleviate the symptoms of a cold or flu, you can leave empty -handed. People from all over the country have noted difficulties in ensuring these over -the -counter medications in several pharmacies.

"There is no cold drug [right now] at CVS", " A person tweeted November 30. And they are not alone. Another Twitter user said on November 18, "went to two CVs, the first was completely exhausted From the cold and the influenza medicine of the children, the other had two bottles to the left of the infant and two bottles of the motorrin for children - the rest of the shelves was empty. It seems ... bad. ""

Similar complaints are made in Walgreens stores. "So everyone gets sick [in] the same time because Walgreens is suffered from cold medicine," A person tweeted November 27. Another Twitter user Shared a photo an almost eliminated shelf of medicines in a Walgreens store on November 14. "If someone wonders how cold the flu season is, I present this shelf to my local Walgreens," they wrote next to the image.

CVS has not yet responded to an investigation into the supply of cold and flu. But spokesperson for Walgreens Zoe Krey Told Better life That the company is "prepared and capable of continuing to meet the needs of [its] customers and patients", despite an increased demand from these over -the -counter drugs.

"We work with our various suppliers and distributors to ensure that our patients have the products they need most," said Krey. "Walgreens has taken measures in recent years to prepare for supply problems by focusing on the products that our customers most need. We work with our suppliers to minimize disturbances and guarantee that our customers and patients have Access to the products and services they need. "

Experts point to two major problems that probably contribute to the downward supply of cold medicines and flu: a sharp increase in flu and increased demand. According to Healthline, the peak of flu season In the United States, generally occurs in February and March, but cases are already doping.

Jason Kessler , MD, head of the section of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Morristown Medical Center medicine in New Jersey, told Healthline that "unprecedented light influenza seasons" last year and the previous year due to Covid restrictions rebounded to create worse disease levels in 2022.

"This probably had the involuntary effect of increasing the sensitivity of many individuals to infection and disease," he said. "Annual exposure [to viruses] helps" do "our immune systems to prevent or alleviate these infections each year."

Consequently, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that Almost 70% of the country is currently facing high or very high levels of flu, according to KSBY affiliated with NBC.

"People have no good appreciation For the severity of the flu, " Brammer Lynnette , MPH, epidemiologist and team leader of the CDC's national surveillance surveillance team, told NBC News. "We will probably see an increase in the coming weeks ... It is a fairly sure bet that the flu activity will continue for several weeks or months."

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Pharmacies seem to have trouble with over -the -counter drugs at all levels due to increased colds of colds and flu, but children could bring the weight. According to a December 1 report of The Washington Post , usual supplies of Tylenol and ibuprofen for children - which are recommended to treat children with diseases such as VR, flu, colds and covids - have not been able to meet demand recently in certain parts of the country.

Kristina Powell , MD, pediatrician in Williamsburg, Virginia, and president of the Virginia section of the American Academy of Pediatrics, told the newspaper that it was "a huge problem" that pharmacy shelves are empty for cold medicine and children's flu. "This is the result of the" Triple Dégen "," she said, referring to the flu, the coche and the RSV.

It is not only that on -the -counter medicines flutter CVS and Walgreens shelves. Two national pharmacy groups have just confirmed that Tamiflu, a popular drug prescribed to treat the flu virus and its generic versions, are Facing supply problems This year, NBC 5 Chicago reported on November 30. AE0FCC31AE342FD3A1346EBB1F342FCB

Michael Ganio , a pharmacist from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), told the media that the shortage had started with children's doses but has been extended in recent weeks. "While these first shortage reports were in the lower resistances of the liquid formulation [for children], full resistance or the adult dose also begins to become worrying with regard to supply," said Ganio.

Better life also contacted CVS and Walgreens on the supply of Tamiflu in their pharmacies. CVS has not yet answered and Walgreens has not answered specific questions about this medication. But a spokesperson for CVS told NBC 5 Chicago that the company "does not know a generalized shortage of Tamiflu at present", while recognizing that they "see an increased demand in [its] stores at the 'National and sporadic scale of certain manufacturers ".

"We continue to provide stores with Tamiflu and other influenza drugs using our existing inventory network, but there will be increased cases when individual pharmacies could be temporarily out of stock. We monitor Closely the situation and work with suppliers to ensure that our patients have access to influenza medicines, "added CVS spokesperson. Walgreens also provided a declaration to the media, recognizing the "temporary and isolated" shortages of Tamiflu in his pharmacies.