Whether it's COVID, a cold or the flu, you might be out of luck if you're trying to relief for whatever ails you. However, cold medicine is hard to come by on shelves at pharmacies due to a nationwide shortage.
Right now, there's a limit on how much cold medicine you can buy at some stores in Virginia, but that isn't the case quite yet for some pharmacies in Hampton Roads.
Tyler Williams said he had flu-like symptoms a few weeks ago and the shelves were bare.
"I did go to my corner store and try to look for cold and flu medicine and couldn't find any," he said. "There wasn't any immediately available for me."
It's all due to that nationwide shortage.
"I've gotten sick recently a couple of weeks ago and I didn't have any cold and flu medicine," Williams said. "I had to miss a few days of work. Anytime I miss work, I don't get paid."
An employee at a Rite Aid in Norfolk told News 3 they're having trouble keeping shelves stocked with cold medicine. They've been out of several types of medicines like DayQuil and children's cough syrup.
"There's a cough and cold (medicine) shortage as well as a pain and fever-reducing (medicine) shortage for the children because of the different viruses that are circulating in our communities right now, said Dr. Anna Peoples, a pharmacist and owner of Peoples Pharmacy in Norfolk. "Unfortunately, two of those viruses are targeting our kids."
At Harris Teeter on Colonial Avenue in Ghent, the cold and flu aisle is just about bare. Store officials said the shortage in medicine is due to supply chain issues.
Raven, a local parent, told News 3 she usually goes the holistic route with her children. She said giving her kids medicine is a last resort.
"That would be concerning if it got to that point where it was the only thing that might be able to relieve him in any cough he had or if it turned into something more serious," Raven said.
Several stores told News 3 they are working with their suppliers to restock as quickly as possible.
