Why Some Cold Medicines Are Going Away at WA, Tri-City Pharmacies
According to CVS and other sources, following a ruling by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration), some cold medicines will be pulled from shelves.
CVS has two pharmacies in the Tri-Cities
The pharmacies located inside the Kennewick and Richland Target stores are CVS. The FDA has ruled a key ingredient in these medicines was judged to be ineffective. These medicines had phenylephrine as its only active ingredient.
A few years ago, CVS acquired Target store pharmacies and operated them inside the retail chain. Besides Kennewick and Richland, the only other CVS pharmacy in Eastern WA is in Spokane.
According to Yahoo News and Reuters:
"...an advisory panel from the FDA ruled that the active ingredient, oral phenylephrine, was ineffective in those products. The ruling from the FDA does not apply to other common cold medicines like pseudoephedrine (Sudafed) or the nasal spray phenylephrine."
This is a major development as it affects a number of widely used products. They include Kenvue's Tylenol, Benadryl, and Haleon's Advil are prominent cold and cough syrups sold in the US that are affected.
The FDA has not yet pulled phenylephrine from its list of 'approved' active ingredients, officials say it is likely they will seek public input before making that decision.
Will other pharmacies follow CVS's lead?
Walgreens said it follows FDA guidelines and is monitoring the situation closely, but as of Thursday no word if they were pulling the medicines. Officials say customers with questions should consult their physician or their regular pharmacy.
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