As students in Connecticut head back to school this week, parents are scrambling to find EpiPens during a nationwide shortage.
“The availability, the affordability, access to EpiPens is absolutely critical,” West Hartford Mayor Shari Cantor (D) said.
The maker of the EpiPen, Mylan, has released a statement saying its working with its manufacturing partner Pfizer to stabilize the supply of the life-saving drug for the millions of Americans, including children, that suffer from allergies.
“’I hate allergies mama,’ I silently thought, I do, too, buddy,” Carolyn Janis said Monday morning at a news conference about the EpiPen shortage.
Janis is raising a 4-year-old son with serious allergies.
“He is dealing right now with peanut, walnut, cashew, Brazilian tree nut, so really everything but almonds at this point,” Janis said.
Janis told NBC Connecticut she called a local pharmacy Monday morning looking to buy new EpiPens.
“There was nothing available locally at this point in time because kids are going back to school,” she said, “and schools are needing them for all of their activities as well.”
A new state law allows students to carry EpiPens on school buses and bus drivers are now required to receive treatment on how to administer them.
“So that no child dies while the school bus driver is dialing 911 and awaiting for an ambulance to respond,” State Rep. Andy Fleischmann (D-West Hartford) said.
As the demand for the live-saving EpiPen has increased, the price for the two-pack has skyrocketed in recent years, Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said.
“This six-fold increase in prices for this pack is completely unjustified except for the profiteering that the drug companies do,” Blumenthal said.
Ten years ago, EpiPens could be purchased for $57, but they sell for closer to $700 if you can find them, according to Blumenthal’s office.
The senator announced he plans to introduce legislation to crack down on pharmaceutical price gouging.
If the drug company cannot justify price hikes to the Department of Health and Human services, “they could order the price be rescinded, refunds to individual consumers and a civil penalty,” Blumenthal said.
Even with help from her insurance, Janis said she still pays about $270 out of pocket for EpiPens to take care of her son.
“My son’s life is worth more than just setting the price so hard that it’s unobtainable for my family many times,” she said.
To deal with the shortage, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has extended the expiration date for some EpiPens by an additional four months. The FDA has also approved a generic version of an epinephrine auto-injector, but it may not be available for consumers anytime soon.
