Health Care Providers Could Face Shortages of Paralytics, Sedatives and other Critical Drugs for Coronavirus Patients, Putting Lives at Risk

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senators Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and Patty Murray (D-WA), Ranking Member of the Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee, are calling for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response (ASPR), Federal Drug Administration (FDA), and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to take immediate action to prepare for and prevent anticipated critical drug shortages during the pandemic. Currently, medical professionals are suffering from a shortage of personal protective equipment and ventilators because of a lack of preparedness – and the federal government must take aggressive action to prevent shortages of critical drugs needed to treat Coronavirus (COVID-19) patients from similarly wreaking havoc on our nation’s health care system during this public health emergency. Drugs including antibiotics, antivirals, sedatives and pain management medication are all at risk of shortages due to the Coronavirus pandemic, and without action to address these supply chain issues, patients could be left without access to the medicine they need to survive.

“Given missed opportunities to prepare for and head off shortages of critical medical supplies and protective equipment, it is imperative that the federal government learn from its failures and act now to procure, supply, and sustain our nation’s current stock of lifesaving and life-sustaining drugs essential to treat patients battling COVID-19,” the Senators wrote. “Our medical professionals are doing everything they can to save lives but we must ensure they have the medication necessary to properly treat patients.”

Michigan has the third highest number of COVID-19 cases in the country, and hospitals in Michigan are currently experiencing a shortage of critical drugs used for placing patients on ventilators. Washington, another early hotspot of the Coronavirus pandemic, faces similar problems and pharmacists in the state have warned of critical drug shortages. Senator Peters raised concerns about vulnerabilities in the medical supply chain in a December report, outlining steps that needed to be taken to address critical drug shortages impacting hospitals across the country. Even before the Coronavirus pandemic arose, active drug shortages in the U.S. were at their highest levels in almost five years. As Peters’ report found, these shortages are, in part, due to U.S. overdependence on foreign pharmaceutical supply chains. The U.S. is the largest consumer of pharmaceutical products in the world, but over 80% of the active ingredients in prescription drugs sold in the U.S. now come from foreign countries, primarily China and India.

The Senators requested detailed information on the Administration’s plan to address forthcoming drug shortages including the current status of critical drugs held in the Strategic National Stockpile, the drug requests made by states struggling with the Coronavirus pandemic, and a list of the Administration’s contracts and procurement proposals to obtain the critical drugs needed to combat COVID-19, among other critical information.

Text of the letter is available here