The FDA is warning that amoxicillin, one of the most commonly-prescribed antibiotics, is in short supply, NBC 5’s Patrick Fazio reports.
According to the Food and Drug Administration, one of the most commonly used antibiotics is currently in short supply, with issues likely to persist into next year.
A recent survey of 21,000 pharmacies from the National Community Pharmacists Association revealed that two-thirds of pharmacies have reported difficulty in receiving amoxiciliin.
"It's serious any time of year, but particularly when you get into the late fall and winter when kids are really getting sick." said John Beckner with the National Community Pharmacists Association. "It really becomes a scary situation and certainly scary for parents of young children that are having trouble getting that particular medication."
Amoxicillin is commonly prescribed to treat bacterial infections including pneumonia, bronchitis and ear infections.
Experts say it's not exactly clear why there's a shortage.
"I actually talked to the FDA and nobody really seems to have a great understanding of what the root cause is here," said Beckner.
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Liquid amoxicillin is just one of the medications in short supply.
"I would say at least hundreds. You really worry about the ones that are prescribed the most frequently." Beckner said. "Our organization and other organizations sounded the alarm early on and so far, the government has not been able to remedy this situation, so it really does need to be a priority moving forward."
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NBC 5 reached out to the largest pharmacies to see what issues were currently present. According to Walgreens, the shortage has yet to affect them. CVS told NBC 5 they are working with manufacturers to replenish supplies as quickly as possible.
The National Community Pharmacists Association expects the shortage of liquid amoxicillin to continue into next year.
