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☆ Common antibiotics are still in shortage as strep cases rise
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-08 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Amanda Musa | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Some group A Strep bacteria are resistant to these antibiotics,” according to Dr. Kristina Bryant, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville. The precautions many people took to protect themselves from Covid-19, like wearing masks and social distancing, also protected them from strep throat. “Strep throat is a routine infection, and we know that cases are going to go up every year,” she said. If your child’s strep throat doesn’t get better with antibiotics, Bryant says, it may be that other bacteria in the throat are making the antibiotics less effective. “If the strep infection goes untreated, that individual can potentially be contagious with strep for weeks,” she said.

Persons: Amoxicillin, Kristina Bryant, Jennifer Stevenson, ”, “ Strep, ” Stevenson, Bryant, “, hasn’t, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, Stevenson, McPhillips, Brenda Goodman Organizations: CNN, US Food, FDA, Norton Children’s Hospital, US Centers for Disease Control, Epic Research, Henry Ford Medical Center, CDC, Rapid, CNN Health Locations: Louisville, Dearborn , Michigan, Covid

Stores are starting their busiest time of year as customers look for help with colds and the flu. Some drugstores have addressed their challenges by adding employees at busy hours. Chris Adkins said he left his job as a pharmacist with a major drugstore chain a couple years ago because of the stress. Labor strife and staffing shortages in health care are not isolated to drugstores, as the recent Kaiser Permanente strike shows. All told, CVS touts in a pharmacy counter brochure that the company can offer more than 15 vaccines to customers.

Persons: haven’t, Chris Adkins, Adkins, ”, “, drugstores, Richard Dang, Dang, John Staed, Rosalind Brewer, Brewer, Jonathan Marquess, Marquess, Jen Cocohoba, ” Cocohoba, Josh Funk Organizations: University of Southern, California Pharmacists Association, Customers, CVS, Walgreens, Labor, Permanente, National Community Pharmacists Association, University of California San, AP, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Science, Educational Media Group Locations: University of Southern California, Pelham , Alabama, Georgia, University of California San Francisco

☆ Amoxicillin shortage: A new season of infections is here, but the shortage of a common kids’ antibiotic never ended
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-22 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Respiratory illness season is coming up, and that’s going to be a huge issue,” said David Margraf, a pharmaceutical research scientist with the University of Minnesota’s Resilient Drug Supply Project. During a drug shortage, allocation helps ensure that no single buyer can claim all the available supply. Khazanchi and his colleague Dr. Ryan Brewster recently studied the clinical effects of last winter’s amoxicillin shortage. “Drug shortages will likely continue to increase if the pricing dynamics in the marketplace are not addressed,” Sandoz said in a statement. “The companies refuse to tell us what’s going on,” said Erin Fox, who tracks drug shortages at the University of Utah.

Persons: —, earaches, ”, David Margraf, Selena Ko, Erin Hooley, pediatricians, Rohan Khazanchi, Khazanchi, Ryan Brewster, Amoxicillin, ” Khazanchi, “ It’s, ” Sandoz, Erin Fox, Laura Bray, They’re, ” Margraf, ” Bray, Dr, Sanjay Gupta, “, Matt Christian Organizations: CNN, Food, University of, Project, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago Tribune, TNS, Getty, FDA, Brigham & Women’s Hospital, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, University of Utah, Angels, CNN Health, US Department of Agriculture, Pharmacopeia’s Medicines Locations: Chicago, Boston

☆ Antibiotic Shortage Could Worsen Syphilis Epidemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Benjamin Ryan | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A new shortage of a type of penicillin crucial to the fight against syphilis is alarming infectious disease experts, who warn that a protracted scarcity of the drug could worsen the U.S. epidemic of the sexually transmitted infection. The shortage, announced by the drugmaker Pfizer in a letter last month, involves Bicillin L-A, a long-acting injectable antibiotic also known as penicillin G benzathine. The company cited significant increases in demand because of the rising rate of syphilis infections, as well as Bicillin’s recent use as an alternative to amoxicillin, another antibiotic that has periodically been scarce and is prescribed for more general infections like strep throat. Steven Danehy, a spokesman for Pfizer, said it would likely take about a year for the company to ramp up production by 50 percent at its plant in Rochester, Mich., and ultimately manufacture enough Bicillin to meet demand and shore up reserves. Syphilis has been on the rise in the United States since 2000, reaching 176,713 cases in 2021, which was an increase of nearly 75 percent since 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Persons: Bicillin, Steven Danehy Organizations: Pfizer, Centers for Disease Control Locations: Rochester, Mich, United States

☆ Why Is Strep So Bad Lately?
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-27 | by ( Suryatapa Bhattacharya | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amoxicillin pills are available, although they aren’t ideal for young children. Photo: Lucy Nicholson/REUTERSHealth officials are warning that strep-throat season could drag out, worsened by an antibiotic shortage and increased rates of a severe form of infection. Strep, a common infection in the throat and tonsils, can strike at any time of year, but most cases occur in late fall to early spring. Serious complications are rare.

Much as he would have liked to significantly increase supplies, Biosca-Reig said he couldn't justify investing millions of euros in new production lines unless he was paid more for the generic drug to cover sharply rising costs. European generic drugmakers say the tender system and regulated prices have fuelled a race to the bottom, and European firms are being undercut by suppliers from Asia. BRUSSELS, WE HAVE A PROBLEMThe European Medicines Agency (EMA) and European Union lawmakers acknowledge there is a problem. Half the generic medicines sold in Spain are priced below 1.60 euros per box or bottle, the country's generics manufacturing association said. But companies with smaller market shares, such as Israel's Teva (TEVA.TA), which has 5% of the region's amoxicillin market according to Medicines for Europe, are constrained.

☆ Amazon launches a subscription prescription drug service
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-24 | by ( Associated Press | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is adding a prescription drug discount program to its growing health care business. The retail giant said Tuesday that it will launch RxPass, a subscription service for customers who have Prime memberships. Amazon Prime members can now receive all of their eligible generic medications for just $5 a month and have them delivered free to their door. Last year, the company shuttered its hybrid virtual, in-home care service called Amazon Care after it failed to get traction from employers. And Haven, a company Amazon created in collaboration with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway to improve health costs, dissolved a year earlier than that.

☆ Fact Check-Amoxicillin capsules do not contain graphene oxide as claimed in video
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

In the video (here), the man shows a red and beige capsule of amoxicillin 500mg, an antibiotic used to treat bacterial infections (here). The man says the material is graphene oxide. The EMC entry does show that the capsule contains iron oxide, which has magnetic properties. As explained in a previous fact check where a similar experiment was carried out on flucloxacillin, iron oxide is often used in foods, cosmetics and in the pharmaceutical industry, and its quantity is regulated (here). The capsules do contain magnetic material, but this is iron oxide, not graphene oxide.

☆ The US is releasing doses of flu medicine from the national stockpile amid a surge in cases
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-21 | by ( Sarah Braner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

HHS said today that states can now access the national stockpile of Tamiflu, a flu antiviral. There's a shortage of the medicine, thanks to a rough start to this flu season. This comes as flu season continues to sweep across the US, with thousands of hospitalizations. States were given access to their own stockpiles last week, according to the statement. Rui Vieira/PA Images via Getty ImagesThis flu season is intense—and it started early.

☆ Flu, RSV and Covid Drive Demand for Children’s Pain Relievers and Fever Reducers
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-20 | by ( Stephanie Stamm | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

Medicines to lower fevers, clear congestion and ease aches and pains are in high demand this winter as the U.S. is experiencing a surge in pediatric cases of RSV, influenza and Covid-19. Both CVS Health Corp. and Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. announced they have imposed purchase limits on children’s cold and flu medicines. Sales of children’s over-the-counter medication are up 80% compared with the same four-week period a year earlier, totaling more than $86 million, according to market-research firm IRI. Inflation has also contributed to higher dollar sales, but it is mainly rising demand that is causing the shortages, IRI said. Parents and caregivers also have fewer pediatric pain relievers to choose from, with the number of options down 7% compared with a year ago.

☆ High demand for children's medications shines a light on fragile US drug supplies
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-12 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Even when demand is not sky-high, drugs shortages happen regularly – but usually more quietly – in the US. At any time, the reasons why shelves may be empty vary from place to place and from drug to drug. With children’s medications, drug manufacturers say they are running full-tilt, and they planned for some increase in sales over the winter months. The FDA tracks drug shortages too, taking reports directly from manufacturers, but it defines them differently than the pharmacists’ group. The White House says drug shortages are a priority for President Biden’s administration, too.

☆ Europe Is Hit by Shortages of Antibiotics
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-10 | by ( Cecilia Butini | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amoxicillin, cephalosporins and other widely used antibiotics are in short supply, data show. Countries across Europe are reporting shortages of antibiotics as demand for the medicines rises and manufacturers grapple with supply-chain snags. Amoxicillin, cephalosporins and other widely used antibiotics are in short supply, data from various countries show, raising concerns among doctors and officials about the availability of drugs that are relied on to treat conditions ranging from ear infections to pneumonia.

☆ Demand for hospital-grade cribs on the rise as viral illnesses continue to surge
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-05 | by ( Carma Hassan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Pediatric hospital beds have been more full than usual for months. Corewell Health Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital has brought out both specialized and non-specialized cribs from storage to meet the demand of pediatric patients. Demand at Hard Manufacturing, which makes cribs, bassinets and youth beds for hospitals, has shot up, President Marjorie Bryen said. “At Nemours Children’s Health, these supply challenges are magnified due to pediatric populations needing more specialized equipment to accommodate different stages of growth. “The Administration has exercised regulatory flexibilities to help health care providers and suppliers continue to respond to COVID-19.

Critical shortages of the ADHD drug Adderall and the antibiotic amoxicillin have left families reeling as the medicines their loved ones need become harder to find. In the case of amoxicillin, demand has become particularly acute amid a so-called tripledemic of Covid, respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, and the flu that are converging this season. The Food and Drug Administration's website currently lists amoxicillin and Adderall, also known as mixed amphetamine salts, as being in short supply. NBC News reached out to two of the drugmakers responsible for producing both Adderall and amoxicillin. In 2020, Congress passed the Mitigating Emergency Drug Shortages Act, which aimed to address some of these issues.

On social media, families say they’ve hunted for hours for Tamiflu and the first-line antibiotics amoxicillin and Augmentin. They have one viral illness after another. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than half of US states have “high” or “very high” respiratory virus activity. As for the antibiotics amoxicillin and Augmentin – a combination of amoxicillin and clavulanate, an agent that helps guard against antibiotic resistance – it’s not entirely clear why demand is so high. Some viral illness, like influenza, can leave the body more vulnerable to secondary bacterial infections that may need treatment with antibiotics.

One of the most commonly used antibiotics in the country, amoxicillin, is in short supply, federal health officials say. The department also listed a shortage for an oral powder. It wasn't immediately clear what prompted the shortage or how long it could last. A spokesman for the FDA previously said a number of factors can cause drug shortages, including manufacturing and quality problems, delays and discontinuations. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which maintains a database of drug shortages, last reported shortages from the companies Monday.

☆ There’s a Shortage of Some Amoxicillin, FDA Says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Talal Ansari | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Amoxicillin is commonly used to treat problems such as ear and sinus infections. A type of amoxicillin, the widely used antibiotic, is in short supply in the U.S., according to the Food and Drug Administration. Amoxicillin powder for suspension is listed on the FDA’s drug shortage database as currently in shortage.

Pharmacies across the United States are reporting shortages of one of the most widely used antibiotics, raising concerns that the medication will be in short supply for the upcoming winter season. Three key amoxicillin manufacturers — Hikma Pharmaceuticals, headquartered in the United Kingdom; Sandoz, based in Switzerland; and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., headquartered in Israel — are reporting shortages of the antibiotic, according to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, which maintains a database of drug shortages. Because amoxicillin is an antibiotic, it is not used to treat infections caused by viruses, such as Covid, the flu or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus). Pharmacists said they are worried if the shortage lingers through the winter, when infections can surge and antibiotic use typically increases. “However, there are a number of factors that can cause or contribute to drug shortages that are out of the FDA’s control.

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