An EpiPen shortage in Canada is expected to be even more severe in August, with no new supplies expected until the end of the month, the drug's maker and Health Canada warned.
Pfizer Canada said on Monday it is able to provide EpiPen Jr, but supply for the epinephrine injector for children is limited, so it is being carefully managed, the Canadian Press reported.
EpiPen and EpiPen Jr are used to deliver an emergency shot of epinephrine to patients who are at risk or have a history of the life-threatening allergic reaction anaphylaxis.
There has been an EpiPen shortage in Canada since January, but Health Canada's chief medical advisor Dr. Supriya Sharma told CTV News that August's shortage will be so severe that there will likely be no supplies at the pharmacy level for several weeks.
"We're trying to work with the company to make sure that they have supply, we're trying to encourage other companies to market their products in Canada and we're trying to work with people so they can understand how to best distribute the supply that we do have in Canada," Sharma told CTV.
"When we go out and we talk about a shortage, we don't want to trigger people to get panicked," Sharma added.
According to a Canadian government statement, Pfizer Canada informed Health Canada that the current EpiPen shortage is due to a manufacturing issue with the EpiPen 0.3 mg format. Pfizer Canada has come forward in asking health care professionals to help manage the supply, the statement continued.
"Health Canada continues to work closely with the company, the provinces and territories and stakeholders to help minimize the impact of this shortage on Canadians," the government statement said.
"We understand the stress that a shortage of a necessary medication can place on patients, families and the health system. We are exploring every option available to the Department with the goal of resolving the situation as soon as possible."
The announcement has caused worry among those Canadians who suffer from severe allergies, CTV News reported.
"It's moving from inconvenience to concern," Jennifer Gerdts, executive director of education and advocacy group Food Allergy Canada, told CTV News. "We've heard from a few people just this week (about) going to multiple pharmacies and not being able to access the product."
Phil Emberley, director of practice advancement and research at the Canadian Pharmacists Association, told CTV News that that most allergy sufferers over the age of 10 require the adult version of the products and that 20 percent of Canadians need more than one dose when experiencing a severe allergic episode.
"Unfortunately, this is quite an acute period for the need for this medication: we have a lot of children going off to camp, we have Canadians going camping this time of year, we have children beginning to get ready for school," Emberley told CTV News. "This is a time when there's quite a bit of demand for this product."
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