Your Health: EpiPen shortage spikes around ‘back to school’

By: Melissa Randall

E–mail: mrandall@abc6.com

Twitter: @MRandallABC6

LINCOLN, R.I. (WLNE–TV)— A new back pack, note pads, pens and pencils. These items are all necessities for heading back to school. But if you’re a parent of a child with severe allergies that list also includes an EpiPen.

As the kids go back to class, getting your hands on the life saving medication may not be easy. In addition to the skyrocketing prices, a nation–wide shortage is putting the supply of self injectable devices in high demand.

"Very scary, and quite honestly unacceptable," said Judi Lawlor, a nurse with Lincoln Pediatrics.

Lawlor is an advocate for children with severe allergies. She’s outraged by the price. A pair, without insurance, could cost families roughly $600– $700. And typically several EpiPens are needed.

"They’re not going to be able to have that many pens so is it going to be that caregiver? At that time? To maybe not have the EpiPen available? I definitely worry about that," she said.

Then, there’s an added problem. A nationwide shortage of EpiPens has spiked over the last few weeks as parents rush to fill prescriptions to send with the kids to keep with the school nurse. Chapel Pharmacy in Cumberland is doing their best to try and keep the pens in stock.

"We’re lucky that we have one each on the shelf at the moment," said Pharmacist Debbie Garabedian. "Some pharmacies don’t have any."

We checked in to see what impact the shortage is having locally. The Rhode Island department of Health tells ABC6 that they are continuing to monitor the situation, but it not a major concern in the state. A spokesperson adds that generics have been available for some time, and the FDA just approved a new generic version.

At the store level, CVS Pharmacy says it is not currently experiencing a widespread shortage of epinephrine auto–injectors. They were able to secure allocations of the various types and are continuing to supply stores as needed. A senior public relations manager added that there may be instances when individual stores may be temporarily out–of–stock and supplies vary store to store.

As for independent run pharmacies like Chapel Pharmacy, they’ve been lucky in that while others can’t get the orders in there’s has been steady. In fact, they’ve been filling prescriptions for patients who were sent to them by other pharmacies.

"We’ve found that to be true. Not just with this, but with other things that have been backordered in short supply. We seem to get them quicker," explained Garabedian.

In response to the shortage, the US Food and Drug Administration is extending some expiration dates. Specific lots of the products can be used for an additional 4 months after the expatriation date. The product typically has a 20 month shelf life.

To find out more visit: https://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/DrugShortages/ucm563360.htm

The maker of the EpiPen, Mylan, did release a statement saying in part it’s working with manufacturing partner, Pfizer, to stabilize the supply.

(C) WLNE–TV 2018