Children are a beautiful blessing filled with wonder, excitement, and a source of joy to the parents who care for them. They are also perfect little breeding grounds for illness, putting their hands all over everything and sneezing, whining, and coughing in all directions. Once they reach nursery age, it becomes more intense. Those sweet little bundles of pleasure not only share social queues and building blocks, but also spread colds, bed bugs, and much more.
Cold and flu season is always tough for parents of young children. Daycare and playdates can result in multiple rounds of a sick toddler. And most of the time, if the baby gets sick, so does the rest of the family. The only thing harder than coaxing a sick kid is trying to do it while you’re miserable too. Younger children are still learning how to express feelings and sensations through words instead of yelling. Even the most mature of adults can get a little childish when they’re not feeling well, so it’s understandable when your pre-speaking toddler screams at the sky over an injury or fever.
During this season of general yuck, increased demand for children’s fever-reducing medicines forced some stores to put a limit on the amount of medicine parents could buy.
Walgreens removes purchase limits on some children’s medications
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention information session last November, this cold weather season has seen a peak in cases of cold, flu, respiratory and covid19, particularly in young children. It makes sense when you think back to the past few years: kids who were toddlers or even born during their time in lockdown are finally coming out into the world.
Dr. José Romero, director of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, notes in the report that these young children are being exposed to several respiratory viruses for the first time. Thanks to the high demand for fever-reducing medicines for children, drugstore chains like Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) – Get a free reporthelp ritual (RAD) – Get a free reportand CVS Pharmacy (cvs) – Get a free report set drug purchase limits to accommodate supply shortages.
Walgreens placed the purchase limit only on its online order carts – customers buying in-store were not subject to the limit. But for parents who are also sick and at home with the kids, lifting the delivery limit will be very helpful.
CVS continues to limit purchases as respiratory season continues
This news will undoubtedly be a lifesaver for some parents who cannot go to the store to get the medicines they need for their children. But Walgreens’ biggest competitor, CVS, still has a limit of 2 products per customer both in its stores and online. Perhaps the company is erring on the side of caution; After all, cold season isn’t over just because the holidays have come to an end. On the other hand, differences in supply chains could explain the different time frames of the two companies.
Meanwhile, Rite-Aid’s pharmacy doesn’t appear to carry any of the medications available online. However, the items are showing as available for store pickup. The site has no official notes on product limits, but stores in major cities like New York and Philadelphia appear to only have one available for store pickup.
