EpiPen shortage expected through August
St. Catharines resident Eric Paskey, 26, has carried two EpiPens with him at all times for most of his life.
He described it as a safeguard, relying on the dose of epinephrine the device administers to keep him alive if he is ever exposed to the tree nuts that can trigger an anaphylactic reaction.
“It’s almost like a safety net,” Paskey said. “I’m very vigilant and very careful when it comes to what I eat and when I go out with friends, how I share food or drinks, all of that.”
Although the care he takes has prevented him from ever having to use the EpiPens he carries, Paskey said he never leaves home without them.
“That’s always the first question when I go out somewhere, ‘Do you have your EpiPens with you?’ The answer is always yes. I always have them,” he said.
But as the supply of EpiPens runs short in local pharmacies, people like Paskey who are living with anaphylaxis are starting to worry.
“If there was a real shortage where I really couldn’t get my hands on it, I definitely wouldn’t feel as safe as I normally do when I go out.”
EpiPen manufacturer Pfizer Canada is warning that its adultdose auto-injector will be in “very limited” supply in Canadian pharmacies throughout August, and new stock likely won’t be available until the end of the month.
Although the company says its EpiPen Jr auto-injectors remain available, the supply is limited and distribution of the injector for children is being carefully managed.
Pfizer — it manufactures the only epinephrine auto-injector available in Canada — blamed the shortage on a manufacturing issue, providing no further explanation. In a statement posted on the Pfizer Canada website, the company says: “We understand and regret the challenges this situation continues to pose to patients. Ensuring continuity of the supply of our medicines is paramount.”
Sean Simpson, past-chair of the Ontario Pharmacists Association, said his Niagara-on-the-Lake pharmacy is sold out of EpiPens, and he suspects that most other pharmacies are in the same situation.
“It’s a bad situation, but I don’t think it’s the end of the world and I don’t think people need to catasterize about it,” Simpson said. “It’s a relative inconvenience. I don’t think any lives will be lost or threatened as a result of the shortage.”
Simpson echoed advice from Health Canada — urging people suffering from an anaphylactic reaction to immediately use expired EpiPens if they do not have a current one, and to call 911.
Although EpiPens typically expire after about one year, Simpson said expiry dates are often “very conservative estimates as it relates to stability.”
Niagara Emergency Medical Services paramedics said they are not affected by the shortage because emergency workers typically administer epinephrine using syringes, rather than EpiPen dispensers.