A nationwide shortage of children’s medicine has led Health Canada to announce emergency drug shipments will soon be distributed across the country.

But what the Yukon will receive – and when – remains unclear.

Health and Social Services Minister Tracy-Anne McPhee told the legislature Monday that large quantities of pediatric ibuprofen and acetaminophen, the drug used in Tylenol, have been acquired by the federal government and distribution plans are coming.

“The Department of Health and Social Services is closely monitoring this situation,” she said during question period.

“I am assured by a text I received on the weekend from the federal minister that Yukon will have its share,” she said.

The territory, and country, are also facing a shortage of pediatric amoxicillin, an antibiotic used to treat a number of infections in children, McPhee noted.

“The federal government has no emergency supply for that antibiotic though,” she said.

McPhee said the Yukon Hospital Corp. is working with the community nursing branch to manage pressures for those drugs and pharmacists and physicians are looking to suggest alternatives where possible.

The emergency supply of children’s ibuprofen and acetaminophen coming to the territory, however, is expected to last “a number of months,” McPhee said. 

“I expect that the shortage of children’s ibuprofen and acetaminophen, at the very least, will be short-lived for us here in the territory,” she said.

The timeline for distribution, and the exact quantity, is still unknown.

Yukon Party MLA Yvonne Clarke said parents are becoming “alarmed” by a spike in respiratory illnesses in other parts of the country.

“Whether it is from COVID, influenza, or RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), some jurisdictions are facing serious pressure on pediatric health care,” Clarke said.

“This problem is made worse by the shortage of over-the-counter medications, like Tylenol and Advil.”

Clarke said her party had heard from some pharmacies that these drugs were being moved behind the counter to prevent bulk-buying.

She asked what the government is doing to ensure Yukon families can get the medicine they need while the territory waits for an emergency supply.

McPhee said her department encourages families to consult their pharmacists for alternatives to children’s drugs in short supply and avoid buying those drugs in bulk.

“Please buy only what (you) need so that there is enough for everyone,” she said.

The hospital corporation, she added, is working with community nursing staff, as well as pharmacists and physicians, to manage the shortage.

“They are determining alternatives to care, and they are providing information to families,” McPhee said.