SHELBY TWP. (WWJ) -- Parents looking for cold and flu medicine for their children in Metro Detroit are finding a lot of empty shelves.
The faster start to the flu season, along with a spike in cases of RSV and other respiratory illnesses, has created a surge in demand for Children's Tylenol and other over-the-counter medicines for kids.
Many stores including Meijer, CVS, Walgreens and Kroger had none in stock as of yesterday evening.
Khang Wen, who works for WWJ's sister station 97.1 The Ticket, said he went to five stores in Shelby Twp., Utica, and Washington Twp. on Tuesday and the shelves were empty.
"Yeah, every shelf," Wen said. "There's nothing on the shelves whatsoever. Signs up say 'limit two', but it doesn't matter because....you can't get anything; completely empty, bare."
Store shelves emptied of children's meds in Macomb County.Khang Wen for WWJ
Wen ended up going home empty-handed.
"I found nothing t all those places," he said. "Now, maybe it was the time I went, and I missed the restock? But I'm sure once they restock, it's not gonna last long."
Doctors and other experts say the problem could persist through the winter cold-and-flu season.
Drugmaker Johnson & Johnson says it is not experiencing widespread shortages of Children's Tylenol, but the product may be "less readily available" at some stores.
