Times Observer photo by Brian Ferry Gaughn’s Drug Store Owner/Pharmacist Scott Newton holds a bottle of amoxicillin powder. The antibiotic is in short supply nationally.

There is a shortage of a common children’s antibiotic.

The local situation is stable, but there is a nationwide shortage of amoxicillin, according to the the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“There is currently an acute shortage of amoxicillin oral antibiotic powder for suspension,” according to the FDA website. “Amoxicillin is widely used for the treatment of bacterial upper and lower respiratory infections in the pediatric population, among other uses. As a result of this shortage, there is an urgent need to increase the supply of these beta-lactam oral suspension products.”

The shortage impacts liquid versions — typically used for children — of the medication, according to Gaughn’s Drug Store Pharmacist, Clinical Coordinator, and Program Manager Justin Scholl.

“Some antibiotics, especially amoxicillin, and to a lesser degree amox/clav (amoxicillin/clavulanate) (Augmentin) and cephalexin (Keflex) are in short supply right now,” Scholl said. “I’ve heard a number of possible rationales for this: some point to manufacturing issues; some propose general lack of manufacturing capacity across the industry for antibiotics; and many have pointed to inappropriate use of antibiotics in treating viral infections, especially in the era of COVID-19/Flu/RSV that we’ve seen in the past several months.”

“The FDA drug shortage website just lists ‘demand increase for drug’ as the cause,” Scholl said. “I haven’t seen anything directly indicating when the shortages are expected to be resolved, so it appears that we are stuck in this situation for at least a little while.”

“We were able to get inventory during the fourth quarter of 2022 and so we do have medication available at Gaughn’s right now,” Scholl said. “That being said, my niece got an ear infection in Erie before Christmas and her parents had to struggle to find a pharmacy that had some amoxicillin in stock.”

“I have also had conversations with other pharmacy colleagues who have seen their suppliers able to ship small quantities with intermittent disruptions,” he said. “I don’t believe that we are in the panic stages at this point, but I do think it is worth reiterating that every infection is not bacterial, and as such many infections do not require antibiotics to get better.”

“For example, some studies have reported the incidence of ear infections being somewhere between 70 to 90 percent viral in nature, where antibiotics would do nothing to affect the outcome,” Scholl said. “The difficulty becomes that it is not always easy to tell the difference in causation. We don’t have great ways to screen/test in many cases.”

“It is somewhat easy to rule out a viral sore throat because many physician offices can do a ‘rapid strep’ test and get a result that will tell if the infection is caused by strep bacteria,” he said. “If that test comes back negative, it’s probably viral and doesn’t require antibiotics. That becomes more difficult with ear infections as there isn’t a way to easily test infected ears.”

COVID-19, the flu, and RSV are all caused by viruses and are not properly treated with antibiotics.

“Anyone with a respiratory illness that could be COVID should test quickly to determine if that is the culprit,” Scholl said. “There are also tests for flu and RSV that could help to guide treatment in those areas, but turnaround time can vary with the test used and/or what is available.”

There are alternatives to amoxicillin, and anyone able to swallow capsules at this point is still in the clear,” he said. “If an older child is able to do that, the option is available.”

According to the American Association of Pediatrics, Amoxicillin tablets, capsules, and chew-tabs remain available and have not been affected by the powder shortage.

“There are also other antibiotics such as cefdinir (Omnicef) that are used for respiratory infections that still seem to have an available supply, but again, oftentimes we see shortages compounded by the need to use alternatives, and then the alternatives get shorted,” he said.