SAN ANTONIO — Mario Resma intended on retrieving his granddaughter’s insulin prescription in Uvalde on Monday, but he only picked up disappointment.
“We went to H-E-B. They said they didn’t have any. There was a shortage,” Resma said.
Resma’s 16-year-old granddaughter, Lilly, has Type 1 diabetes, of which 2 million Americans live with, according to the American Diabetes Association. More than eight million people in the U.S. require insulin to stay alive.
“It’s very hard to be dependent on insulin, especially someone that young. It’s very heart breaking to see her struggle,” Resma said.
The grandfather noted he was offered an alternative insulin option after learning the vials were not available.
“It takes three pens to make up one vial. A vial costs about $56 and a pen costs around $150,” Resma said.
Drug maker Eli Lilly and Company announced in March the presence of market and supply chain issues led to the lack in availability of certain insulin products at pharmacies nationwide.
On April 12, the company provided an update stating in part:
“All Lilly insulins are available in the U.S. for patients living with diabetes, including 10 mL vials of Humalog® (insulin lispro injection) 100 units/mL and Insulin Lispro Injection 100 units/mL. But, the market and supply chain continue to be dynamic, so some pharmacies may still experience intermittent outages. For most of our insulin products, we have more than one presentation option, like pre-filled pens and cartridges, which provide greater opportunity for patients in the U.S. and across the globe to access our medicines.”
Dr. Maria Escobar-Vasco, clinical assistant professor of endocrinology at UT Health San Antonio, stressed there is not actually a shortage of insulin while pointing out the increased demand in the life-saving medication.
Escobar-Vasco urges patients to consult with their physicians who can transfer their insulin prescription to a different pharmacy or recommend alternative insulin products.
“There are certain brands or certain companies that may be having some issues with the demand and the amount they’re able to produce and get into pharmacies, but it’s not all the insulins,” Escobar-Vasco said. “And so we have a significant amount of different arrays of insulins that for most patients can be interchangeable that we can help our patients suffering with diabetes use and change if they’re having any issues finding the insulins that they have prescribed in the pharmacies.”
KENS 5 contacted numerous independent pharmacies in the San Antonio area that confirmed they’re lacking ample amounts of specific insulin products as well.
“Patients that are insulin dependent, meaning they do not produce their own insulin anymore, can be become very, very sick with not only high blood sugars in their blood stream but also accumulation of acid on their blood stream,” Escobar-Vasco said.
Meanwhile, Resma hopes the medication his granddaughter depends on, returns to the pharmacy shelves in great quantities.
“Especially out here where there are only one or two choices where we can get it."