Some Ottawa pharmacies limiting sale of cold medications as influenza season ramps up

There are urgent calls to vaccinate against influenza as a raging cold and flu season continues to overwhelm hospitals in Ottawa and across the country.

"It’s good to get the flu vaccine as well as the COVID-19 vaccine if you are eligible," said Dr. Zahid Butt, an epidemiologist.

The Canadian Paediatric Society and National Advisory Committee on Influenza recommend that all children over six months of age get the flu shot.

"Everything is open now and there is no mask mandate and that’s why you are seeing this surge in cases," Butt said.

An uptick in flu cases is one of the factors contributing to a sustained and unprecedented surge in patients at CHEO.

Ottawa's children's hospital says children and babies could end up with life-threatening complications if they are inflected with influenza. 

Experts say if more kids get their shots it could help reduce the strain on children’s hospitals across the country.

With more kids getting sick, there’s also still a shortage for some children’s pain reliever medication.

Health Canada says a shipment of more than one million bottles of children’s pain reliever medication will arrive in Canada next week. 

"It will do one major thing, it will take away the anxiety that people have," said Dr. Christopher Labos, an epidemiologist and cardiologist. "Some of the parents that are taking their children to the emergency rooms are doing so because they can’t take care of them at home and that’s because they don’t have the medication they need to bring down a fever."

Some Ottawa pharmacies received shipments of medications this weekend to begin to restock shelves.

There’s a limit for customers on select cough and cold products at some pharmacies because of the supply issues.

A sign at a Rexall in Ottawa said there was a limit of two packages on all cough and cold medications per customer, "to ensure all our customers can get kids medication."