JACKSON, Miss. - It’s become an often too familiar scenario ... supply and demand don't match. The baby formula shortage saw doctors going down the line of recommendations as they waited for replenished supplies. Now, the problem is a national shortage of the antibiotic amoxicillin - a first-line drug commonly used drug to treat bacterial infections in children. It’s already impacting Mississippi families. Amoxicillin targets the organism that is suspected of causing infection, says Dr. Catherine Phillippi at TrustCare Kids. TrustCare Kids discovered the shortage when pharmacies couldn’t fill the prescriptions. There are several wholesalers. says Dr. Andrew Clark at Northtown Pharmacy, but as of now it's not available. There are second-line therapy drugs like Augmentin or cefdinir. The difference is it "may be a little bit more (of a) broad spectrum," explained Clark. It also may cause diarrhea. That's a concern, Clark continues, because it can kill more (of the) good bacteria that’s in your gut. ... but it’s "very effective against the infection.” (WLBT 11/23/22)
The Department of Health says Mississippi has the highest rate of antibiotic prescriptions in America. A run-of-the-mill virus can cause fever, runny nose and cough, but you don’t necessarily treat that with an antibiotic,” noted Phillippi.
Dr. Clark says wholesalers often give timelines for replenishments, but he hasn’t seen that regarding amoxicillin.
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