COLORADO SPRINGS — The national antibiotic shortage is impacting the Colorado Springs area.
I called about a dozen pharmacies here to see how. I was told amoxicillin is still hard to get at times in our area. It's important to note, antibiotics like amoxicillin don't necessarily help with viral infections, but they can help with bacterial infections.
So, how is the shortage impacting sick children? I spoke with local pediatrician, Dr. Matthews-Vu, about what she is seeing.
They are seeing a lot of flu, covid, and R-S-V cases.
Dr. Vu tells me a lot of children are getting ill. It’s causing kids to have to come in for office visits, urgent cares, and emergency visits. She tells me the national shortage of amoxicillin is impacting her patients.
“It’s not impossible to get, but the amounts are decreased. For those viral infections that I listed, influenza, RSV and covid, are viral infections, and they don’t need to be treated with antibiotics. So, we do want to make sure that we are using antibiotics appropriately, judiciously for the right types of infections,” said Vu.
Vu says the best thing parents can do is come to get tested to see what type of sickness they have. She says do not overlook this step if your child is very sick. If it is a viral infection, your doctor can tell you. If your child has a bacterial infection and antibiotics, they can offer you a prescription.
The local pharmacies I spoke with said to call around if you need amoxicillin or a prescription that your regular pharmacy is out of. There are several pharmacies in our area you can reach out to.
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