Once the pandemic subsided, global supply chains were supposed to return to normal. But now “hundreds of drugs” are in short supply in the United States, and even CNN is admitting that we are in the midst of “the worst food crisis in modern history”. As I did research for this article, I was stunned by what I discovered. Things are worse than I realized. I knew that a lot of drugs were in short supply, but it turns out that there have been shortages of many of our most basic antibiotics since last October, and now Pfizer is telling us that several types of penicillin will completely run out later this year…
Pfizer will run out of several doses of penicillin, which treat syphilis, strep throat, and other infections, later this year as shortages ripple across the US supply chain.
The company anticipates running out of the children’s dose of the syphilis drug Bicillin L-A by the end of June, according to a letter Pfizer posted Tuesday on the Food and Drug Administration’s website. The company says it’s prioritizing production of larger doses of Bicillin L-A, which is recommended for pregnant people with syphilis because it is the only drug that can pass through the placenta and also treat the fetus.
A different Pfizer penicillin, Bicillin C-R that treats other bacterial infections but not syphilis, is expected to run out in the third quarter, which ends Sept. 30. Pfizer’s penicillin has been in shortage since April.
Of course there are growing shortages of many other commonly used drugs.
For example, one recent survey discovered that most cancer centers in the U.S. “are reporting shortages of commonly used chemotherapy drugs”…
A recent survey found that a majority of cancer centers are reporting shortages of commonly used chemotherapy drugs used to treat a wide variety of cancers.
Much of the current shortage stems from the temporary closure of a drug manufacturing facility in India that happened after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) found issues in the plant’s quality control.
After I first read that, I immediately had one burning question come to mind.
Why in the world are we having our chemotherapy drugs manufactured in India?
Once the war between the U.S. and China starts, it is going to be exceedingly difficult to get things shipped across the Pacific.
So what are we going to do then?
Hellbound and Down 