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As doctors and hospitals around the country struggle to deal with a rising number of children hospitalized with the respiratory syncytial virus, they may be without one of the most popular antibiotics used to fight off secondary infections caused by the virus.
Three of the top companies that manufacture amoxicillin are reporting supply concerns, according to The Hill. Most of the supply issues involve the liquid form of the drug, which is most commonly given to children.
A spokesperson for one of the companies, Hikma, told The Hill that they have enough supply to fill current orders but are limiting the sale of new orders.
“We are managing distribution to make sure we continue to fully meet our existing supply commitments,” spokesman Steve Weiss said. “Our number one priority is to honor the commitments we have to our current customers, and allocation allows us to achieve this.”
NBC News reports drug wholesalers are limiting the amount of amoxicillin they sell to pharmacies to one bottle per day.
“That doesn’t cut it very well,” Brian Caswell, owner of Wolkar Drug in Baxter Springs, Kansas, said. “So we’re going to be ordering one bottle every day, whether we need it or not, to just try to stock up because we don’t know how long this situation is going to last.”