Walgreens Removes Purchase Limits On Fever-Reducing Products For Kids

DEERFIELD, IL — As the country continues battling through a "tripledemic," Walgreens has removed an online-only purchase limit it had installed last month for its children fever medications. Earlier this week, the Deerfield-based company said improved in-stock conditions of over-the-the-counter pediatric fever-reducing products led to the reversal.

"This was originally put in place to prevent excess purchasing behavior," Walgreens Boots Alliance, parent company of Walgreens, said in a statement. "For customers looking for items, our website updates with the latest available store inventory information frequently throughout the day."

According to Walgreens, "tripledemic" refers to an increase of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus cases this flu season, one experts have deemed the worst in over a decade.

"Parents of young children know all too well that this respiratory illness season is a doozy," Walgreens said in December.

When students returned to school last fall, Walgreens said COVID-19 cases took a backseat while flu and RSV ticked upward. Hospitalizations among children reached 13 per 100,000 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC says that nearly all children will get an RSV infection by the time they are 2 years old, but called the surge in cases this season "unusual."

"It is likely a consequence of COVID-19 precautions changing or being removed on a broad scale, such as lifting the mask mandate and social distancing," Dr. Kevin Ban, global chief medical officer at Walgreens Boots Alliance, said last month. "In addition to the fact that babies born during the pandemic were not exposed to regular common viruses, including RSV, and early exposure can help build up immunity, so they are now more susceptible."

Walgreens said it has "worked diligently" with its suppliers to ensure pharmacies nationwide have enough supply to meet customer demand.