BEVERLY HILLS, Mo. – As the flu makes its way around the nation, those fever-reducing medicines are getting harder to find.
“Cold and flu medication, and even fever-reducing medicines, especially for children like Tylenol and Motrin,” said Catherine Gilmore, assistant professor at the St. Louis College of Pharmacy and pharmacist at Beverly Hills Pharmacy.
The Beverly Hills Pharmacy employed a team of 26 people to give much-needed medications to St. Louisans over the phone, in person, and to delivery drivers.
Gilmore said some items cannot be stocked. She said she has seen more customers asking for cold and flu medicine.
“Over the counters like Tylenol and Motrin and even prescription products, Gilmore said. “Especially, like, some acute illnesses like amoxicillin, which is an antibiotic, and Tamiflu, which is used to help with the flu.”
The family-owned business since 1977 has recommended that patients be their best advocates, and that might mean contacting multiple pharmacies, since they all pull from separate warehouses that have different supplies of medication.
“Not everything, you know, when you see Amoxil or Tylenol,” said Chris Geronsin, the owner of Beverly Hills Pharmacy. “It’s not just that. It’s the binders and the lubricants, and there’s all kinds of things involved in the process. So, if you’re missing the binding agent, you can’t make the tablet. So, it’s a lot of little things.”