Waterloo region families eager for more children’s pain meds arriving in Canada
Waterloo region families eager for more children’s pain meds arriving in Canada
Children’s cold and flu medications are on the way to restock bare pharmacy shelves, as the federal government is currently securing foreign imports to improve supply, and some pharmacies have seen those shipments already this weekend.
Shawna Alemu of Waterloo region says the months-long children’s medication shortage has been difficult with her four children sick at home.
“My heart was breaking for my kids," she said. "It is scary to me to think that your children are sick and there’s really nothing you can do."
New imports of children’s pain relief medication are meant to alleviate Alemu’s concerns. The federal government announced Friday that one million bottles are arriving on store shelves and an additional 500,000 bottles will arrive over the next three weeks.
The head of the Ontario Pharmacists Association says it’s not a long-term fix.
"A million packages of the children's Tylenol and Advil aren’t going to last long," said Justin Bates. "We're talking weeks, not months, so this is really a short-term solution and it's an indication of abject failure when we have to import drugs."
While the influx of medication may be short-term solution, it is welcomed news to a Kitchener family.
"I mean it's kind of a relief," said parent Rachel Verhoeven. "We were dealing with my five-year-old having a cold or some sort of viral thing going around and nothing was bringing her temperatures down other than Tylenol or Advil."
The shortage has been attributed to a spike in viral illnesses that began in spring, when demands are usually low, but as the flu viciously worked its way through communities, shelves were left bare leaving families scrambling to find medication.
"There’s a limit of one per household, which I totally get, said Alemu. "But even if you have four kids, five kids, six kids, that’s not even going to get you through a couple days of fever for your family."
Even with the new shipments, pharmacists are still working to conserve what they receive and some shipments are headed to hospitals first.
"We still, you know, don’t have all of the supply that we need to make sure that people who really need it for kids that are sick are able to get the supply,” said Dr. Sheli Dattani, an Ottawa pharmacist and vice present of Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada.
As parents prepare to live through a fourth week of a national flu epidemic, talking to a pharmacist might be the best course of action while medication trickles back onto pharmacy shelves.
"Many pharmacists locally have pulled off the lower dose for adult medication in order to be able to use that medication to prepare it for children in a way that would make the most sense," said Dr. Dattani. "So, whatever you do as a parent, don’t go giving adult medication to a child."
The federal government is seeking to delay the extension of assisted dying eligibility to people whose sole condition is a mental disorder until March 17, 2024. Justice Minister David Lametti introduced a bill seeking the extension in the House of Commons on Thursday.
Nestle Canada says it is winding down its frozen meals and pizza business in Canada over the next six months. The four brands that will no longer be sold in the freezer aisle at Canadian grocery stores are Delissio, Stouffer's, Lean Cuisine and Life Cuisine.
Will we see six more weeks of winter, or an early spring? Here’s what some of the groundhogs (and one human) have predicted so far, from coast-to-coast.
A gay man is taking the federal government to court, challenging the constitutionality of a policy restricting gay and bisexual men from donating to sperm banks in Canada, CTV News has learned.
The United States has answered President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's plea for rockets that can strike deep behind the front lines of the nearly year-long conflict with Russia. Now Russian forces will need to adapt or face potentially catastrophic losses.
Canada's justice minister accused Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives Thursday of using tragedies such as the killing of a young Ontario Provincial Police officer 'to try to score political points.'
Australia is removing the monarchy from its bank notes. The nation's new $5 bill will feature an Indigenous design rather than an image of King Charles III. But the king is still expected to appear on coins that currently bear the image of the late Queen Elizabeth II.
The organization regulating medical care and services in Manitoba is apologizing for racism directed towards Indigenous people when accessing health care in the province.
The Middlesex-London Health Unit (MLHU) has issued its first Cold Weather Alert of the year. The Alert will come into effect just after midnight as wind chill values plunge to -23 C by midday Friday.
One person has died after a two-vehicle crash in south London Wednesday night. Police were called to the scene on Bostwick Road around 7:20 p.m. and say there were five people injured in total and all five were taken to the hospital with injuries ranging from serious to life-threatening.
Wiarton Willie has predicted an early spring! The groundhog in South Bruce Peninsula didn't see his shadow at 8:07 a.m. on Thursday morning, meaning spring is on the way.
The Nishnawbe Aski Police Service is investigating after a handwritten note containing a violent threat at an Attawapiskat arena was found during a hockey tournament prompting an armed response by officers.
Highway 11 in northern Ontario is closed Thursday morning from Highway 66 near Kenogami Lake to Matheson after a collision involving several vehicles, police say.
Ottawa ranks 45th out of 62 cities across Canada and the United States in a study on downtown recovery, with activity levels at 51 per cent of pre-pandemic levels.
Ontario has released a new 'connected' and 'convenient' health-care plan aimed at shortening wait times and localizing access to care across the province.
Three Richmond Hill residents have been arrested after police seized $500,000 in fake gift cards from a “sophisticated forgery lab” while searching multiple local properties last month.
A polar vortex is descending over Ontario this week and some of the coldest weather is still to come. Wind chills will also reach dangerous levels, increasing the risk of frostbite.
The next few nights are expected to be frigid in Montreal, with wind chill factors dropping to -30. In order to prevent anyone experiencing homelessness from ending up outdoors, the City of Montreal is announcing the opening of two emergency shelters.
A Quebec woman said she was very surprised to find her stolen Audi had been used in what’s being described as an “absolutely insane” Ontario mall theft.
On the day that Shubenacadie Sam predicted six more weeks of winter, there are warnings and statements cautioning that the coldest air of the season is about to arrive in the Maritimes.
Three people have been charged after more than $400,000 in drugs and cash were seized from two homes and a vehicle after a seven-month-long investigation in Edmonton.
Athabasca University's board of governors has replaced the president who resisted the government's demand to double the distance-learning school's number of employees who live in Athabasca.
B.C.'s Ministry of Health is continuing its multi-year trend of paying millions more dollars each year to private surgical centres for the delivery of public health care, CTV News has learned.
