Walgreens lifts online purchasing limit on children’s pain medication

Walgreens has lifted a limit it placed on online purchases of children’s pain medication after it received increased supply to address rising demand nationwide. 

The retail and pharmacy chain announced last month that it needed to limit the amount of child pain relief products that a consumer can buy to six per online transaction to avoid excess buying. The company said its retailers throughout the country were struggling with supplier fulfillment issues from the heightened demand. 

But Walgreens said in a statement on Monday that it was able to remove the limit as a result of increased stock of its over-the-counter children’s fever-reducing products. 

“Walgreens has worked diligently with our suppliers to ensure we have enough supply to meet customer demand nationwide,” the statement reads. 

CVS also announced a limit on online and in-store purchasing of pediatric pain relievers, to two per customer, at the same time Walgreens announced its own last month. 

Many children throughout the country have been affected by what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has called a “tripledemic” of COVID-19, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). 

COVID-19 rates have been rising among the youngest children, and experts have warned about this season being a particularly difficult one for the flu as many are engaging in normal activities for the first winter since before the pandemic began. 

RSV is a respiratory virus that can cause the most severe symptoms in infants. The youngest children, specifically those six months and younger, are the most vulnerable to RSV, as their immune systems are still developing.