Alberta secures 5 million bottles of children's pain and fever meds to distribute across province, then country
Alberta Health Services has procured five million bottles of children's acetaminophen and ibuprofen and will distribute the drugs first across the province, then across Canada, the Alberta government says.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith and Health Minister Jason Copping made the announcement Tuesday morning, speaking at a downtown Edmonton drug store.
"In the days ahead, we will be working closely with Alberta Health Services and Health Canada to expedite the approval process and get this additional supply to Canada and onto Alberta pharmacy shelves and into hospitals as quickly as possible," Copping told reporters.
"Once approvals are in place, we should only be a few weeks. The medication will be sent to us in a number of shipments. When a shipment is received, the bottles will be available for ordering by pharmacies across the province and distributed within a couple of days."
Smith added, "You can feel confident that we are all moving as quickly as we can so Alberta families can get what they need."
The Alberta government is expecting to pay a premium for the drugs and will subsidize the cost so that pharmacies can sell them "at the average retail price."
A final price tag was not available on Tuesday, as the government was still finalizing its contract with the supplier.
The supplier, Atabay Pharmaceuticals and Fine Chemicals, has sold to dozens of markets in Europe and around the world for decades, Smith and Copping said.
ALBERTA WILL SHARE EXTRA PRODUCT
According to Copping, once Alberta pharmacies and hospitals are stocked, the province will work with Health Canada to determine how to share the remaining supply with other jurisdictions.
The medication still needs to be manufactured. Then, Copping expects Health Canada's approval to import the medication will take two to three weeks, with shipments to Alberta starting soon after that.
"We're going to be working very hard at that and, again, have had conversations with the federal government to fast-track the approvals, so the good news is this is not an unknown entity to Health Canada," Copping said of the medication supplier. "They've already provided the certificates on that and again, pleased to be working with the federal government to move this as quickly as possible."
Drug shortages in Canada dating back to last spring have been exacerbated in recent months by soaring demand amid surges of flu, RSV and COVID-19 cases, as well as lingering pandemic supply chain snags, The Canadian Press has reported.
On Tuesday, a House of Commons health committee criticized Health Canada officials for not handling the situation more quickly or effectively. As many as 800 drugs – including 23 that are considered critical – are currently in short supply in Canada, Linsey Hollett, the director of health product compliance for Health Canada, told the committee.
- 1M units of imported kids' pain meds now hitting pharmacy shelves as flu rates spike
- Drug shortages worsen across Canada, extend beyond kids' pain and fever meds
- Shoppers Drug Mart parent company says cough and cold sales hit all-time high
MEDS WILL HELP EASE HOSPITAL PRESSURE: SMITH
The drug procurement comes as Alberta's hospital system is struggling to handle the rise in illness, especially at children's hospitals.
In recent days, the government has redeployed staff and taken other steps to increase capacity, but Smith said the pain and fever medication is part of her plan, too.
"That is why we want to make sure parents have access to the medication that they need, because if they can't break the fever, they end up in the hospital rooms, and that is what's causing the pressures in our hospitals not here, but across the entire country," Smith said. "I think that our job in providing health services is to make sure that people have the medication that they need so they can treat at home and also make sure that the hospitals are able to deal with patients efficiently when they show up."
Pharmacies will be able to sell the product from behind the counter if they are concerned about hoarding, government officials said.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Saif Kaisar and The Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Most of Canada to receive emergency alert test today
The federal government will test its capacity to issue emergency alerts today, with the exception of Ontario, where the test will take place on May 15.
OPINION What King Charles' schedule being too 'full' to accommodate son suggests about relationship with Prince Harry
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has made headlines with his recent arrival in the U.K., this time to celebrate all things Invictus. But upon the prince landing in the U.K., we have already had confirmation that King Charles III won't have time to see his youngest son during his brief visit.
Ontario man devastated to learn $150,000 line of credit isn't insured after wife dies
An Ontario man found out that a line of credit he thought was insured actually isn't after his wife of 50 years died.
Boy Scouts of America is rebranding. Here's why they're now named Scouting America
After more than a century, Boy Scouts of America is rebranding as Scouting America, another major shakeup for an organization that once proudly resisted change.
Trial begins for Winnipeg serial killer who claims he was mentally ill
The trial of a man who admits he killed four women in Winnipeg is set to begin Wednesday, and a law professor says lawyers for Jeremy Skibicki have multiple hurdles to clear for a defence of mental illness.
New Canadian study could be a lifesaver for thousands suffering from CTE
A first-of-its-kind Canadian research study is working towards a major medical breakthrough for a brain disorder, believed to be caused by repeated head injuries, that can only be detected after death.
Rape, terror and death at sea: How a boat carrying Rohingya children, women and men capsized
In March, Indonesian officials and local fishermen rescued 75 people from the overturned hull of a boat off the coast of Indonesia. Until now, little was known about why the boat capsized.
Stormy Daniels describes meeting Trump during occasionally graphic testimony in hush money trial
With Donald Trump sitting just feet away, Stormy Daniels testified Tuesday at the former president's hush money trial about a sexual encounter the porn actor says they had in 2006 that resulted in her being paid to keep silent during the presidential race 10 years later.
These adults born in the '90s partnered with their parents to buy homes in Ontario
An Ontario woman said it would have been impossible to buy a house without her mother – an anecdote that animates the fact that over 17 per cent of Canadian homeowners born in the ‘90s own their property with their parents, according to a new report.