Some 160,000 bottles of pediatric acetaminophen should arrive on the shelves of pharmacies in the province within a few days, the Quebec Association of Drug Distributors (AQDP) announced Thursday.
Canada is experiencing a shortage of children’s drugs, including acetaminophen and ibuprofen, also known by the trade names Tylenol and Advil.
The drugs in question come from the manufacturer Johnson & Johnson, in the United States. These are 120ml bottles of Tylenol for children ages 2-11 at a strength of 160mg per 5ml, cherry flavored with no dyes.
The director general of the AQDP, Hugues Mousseau, expects these products to be distributed in the 1,900 pharmacies in Quebec by Christmas, thanks to the work of the teams at the six distribution centers.
He points out that this import comes on top of “the record quantities of products supplied for months by the manufacturers of pediatric analgesics which already correspond to double the usual volumes”.
“Despite these positive developments, Quebec pharmacy distributors expect the current shortage to continue since the demand for over-the-counter pediatric analgesics has continued to grow significantly over the past few weeks,” explains Mr. Mousseau.
It therefore invites families to limit themselves to purchases of immediate necessity and not to stock up.
Imported bottles will be in English only packaging. However, the AQDP specifies that tools will be available to consult the information in French, in particular in pharmacies as well as on the tylenol.ca website.
The drugs will be available at Familiprix, Jean Coutu, Kohl & Frisch, Pharmaplus, McKesson Canada and Shoppers DrugMart pharmacies.