HALIFAX – While many kids and their families will be out enjoying Halloween this evening, some kids need to be wary of a serious risk.
After a recall on a popular epinephrine injector one Halifax mother is worried she doesn’t have the proper medicine to combat a serious allergic reaction.
Mona MacNeil switched from an EpiPen to the epinephrine injector Allerject for her 11-year-old son Matthew who has a life threatening peanut allergy.
“It was touted as a better appliance because it speaks to you and it’s smaller. So everyone rushed to get it instead of the EpiPen,” said Mona.
But now the injector is part of a massive recall across North America after reports it may not be injecting the proper dose of the life-saving drug.
RECALL: Epinephrine injectors ‘Allerject’ may not give the correct dose
EpiPen hard to get a hold of
The recall has led to an increase in demand of EpiPens. Some drugstores in Halifax are out of stock, leaving Mona and many other parents without during the Halloween season.
“Now everyone is rushing to get an EpiPen and we can’t get them. My pharmicist told me they are out,” said Mona.
She also said it’s bad timing for her son Matthew. He and thousands of other kids will be hauling home various chocolate bars this Halloween uncertain if they have proper medicine to save them if they accidentally eat a peanut.
“I’m kind of nervous eating candy alone because if I do eat something that I can’t have, say like Peanut M&M’s because some M&M’s have peanuts in them and others don’t,” Matthew said.
“So I am not really sure. I’m kind of nervous about how my Allerject doesn’t always work.”
His mother said it’s going to be a scarier than usual Halloween.
“My concern is Matthew would eat something and have a reaction and if we had to rely on the Allerject. I am very worried and very stressed as to what may happen,” stressed Mona.
Drug maker Pfizer Canada said there is no official shortage of the EpiPen.
In a statement on it’s website it said it has “already shipped its current EpiPen inventory to wholesalers to be made available to Canadian patients.”
“Starting the first week of November, several additional shipments of EpiPen and of EpiPen Jr will arrive in Canada, which will be sufficient to meet the unexpected increase in demand by month end.”
Taking caution
Mona says she will be taking extra caution and sorting through candy meticulously this year. Her pharmacist tells her a new shipment of EpiPens will arrive soon. She has been calling everyday.
But for her it’s not soon enough to ease her concern on the scariest day of the year for kids with peanut allergies. Or for Matthew who might have to skip the candy this year.
“Not sure if we will let him have any of it. We will see,” said Mona.
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