CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In a letter to customers, Pfizer is warning of a shortage of penicillin due to "significant increases in demand, due to an increase in syphilis infection rates."
Pfizer's stockpile of their version of injectable penicillin for children, Bicillin L-A, is expected to be depleted by the end of June, the company said. Bicillin® C-R is expected to deplete by October.
Inventory is predicted to start recovering in the second and third quarters of 2024, Pfizer said.
Dr. Gregg Silverman joined First Edition to explain what Bicillin is, and the effects the shortage could have on your family.
"It is a long-acting, injectable penicillin. Generally what happens is kids get one shot and that's it, it stops, that's why Bicillin works, that's why it's good," Silverman said.
If the injectable stock depletes, doctors will still have options to treat your child.
"There are other workarounds for this for your physician, your doctor, to say 'well, may be can give them amoxicillin,' which is an oral medicine, but takes a little bit longer, you may need to treat someone for 5 to 7 days," Silverman said.
Since reaching a historic low in 2000 and 2001, the rate of syphilis has increased almost every year, increasing 28.6% during 2020 to 2021, according to the CDC, which is putting a strain on drug makers.
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