For those who survived the brawls in Walmarts and Costcos across the nation for toilet paper, one may not want to take off those boxing gloves just yet, for CBS News reports that a new fight is emerging at stores across the country for Tylenol amid product shortages due to its ability to manage pain for those afflicted by COVID-19.
Dr. Parham Eftekari is a nephrologist and an internal medicine physician. He said Tylenol is preferred for fever over non-steroidal, anti-inflammatories like ibuprofen.
“It is safer to give Tylenol or acetaminophen for fever,” he said. “Try to stay away from the non-steroidal. Non-steroidals are good for arthritis, headaches, migraines sometimes, but prolonged use of it definitely has adverse outcomes for the heart, the kidney and now, recent evidence shows, possible immune system.”
Eftekari said research is still being done, but initial research shows drugs like ibuprofen could make COVID-19 worse for some patients.
“Use of anti-fever medication can actually inhibit some of the cell function that can portably worsen outcomes in COVID-19,” he said.
A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Tylenol, acknowledged the shortage and said the company is working to overcome it.
“We are experiencing record high demand for Tylenol, and despite our producing and shipping product at historic highs, we are experiencing a temporary shortage in some regions in the US,” said Kim Montagnino, Global Corporate Media Relations Senior Director. “We are committed to maintaining our increased production, including running lines up to 24/7 to maximize supply.”
Johnson & Johnson said they’re working to keep the drug available and are encouraging stores to put limits on how much Tylenol people can buy. That’s what CBS4 News saw at a Broward Walgreens, where the Tylenol Extra Strength is kept behind the counter.
We checked online and we couldn’t get most versions of Tylenol online at Walgreens, Target or CVS. A Walgreen’s spokesperson said they’re aware of the demand for Tylenol and they do have enough to meet customer’s needs.
Pharmacist Howard Fisher said they still have some bottles of Tylenol on the shelves at Medical III Pharmacy in Plantation. But that’s all they’ve got.
“When you go to re-order it, it’s not available,” he explained. “We have what we have.”
Fisher said he’s told it will be awhile before they can get more.
“Like the end of the month,” he said.
If you’re looking for Tylenol, Fisher suggested purchasing acetaminophen, the generic version of Tylenol. (source)
As the story suggests, what many do not seem to realize is that Tylenol is aceitaminophen, which can also be purchased as a generic medicine over the counter. One does not need a specific brand, but just the medicine itself.
This speaks to something that many people have noted, which is the American psychosis surrounding crisis management.
Americans run by fear because fear has been inculcated into them for their whole lives. This could be a manageable thing, but it becomes a huge problem when it is synchronized with a concept of justice that is equivocated with legalism, for instead of it causing a man to shy away from undesireable things, it engenders reactionary behavior that can threaten a man’s livelihood, but also have one threatened if one happens to frustrate the wrong person. It brings man to isolation, mistrust, and legitimizes a ‘take-all-for-me’ attitude that does not think, but reacts to circumstances like an animal to stimuli in the name of self-preservation.
This is why Americans do not necessarily go to the point of mob violence against each other over just any object, but those things which they have been told are valuable. Concept is less important than object, so whether it is a “tickle-me-elmo” doll, a chicken sandwich from Popeyes, toilet paper, or Tylenol branded aceitaminophen (forget about the generic stuff, even though it has the same effects), the concept is that people will react out of fear and a seeking to get what is “theirs” without reason.
For those taking critical notes, be aware this is a major reason why people say that Americans either cannot be or are to be ‘questionably’ trusted, because they do not so much think about the consequences of their actions, but just act because this is what is the ‘good’ thing to do without considering if it is good. This is a reason why the state of Texas has been turning into another California, because people from California are migrating to Texas because it is ‘better’ than California, but without considering how California was turned into a run-down trash heap. Certainly it was not “the Mexicans” as a whole just as it was not “the Italians” or “the Greeks” who caused the social problems of the early 20th century (as migrants are often blamed for larger social issues as a collective in the US), but for every problem that “the Mexicans” caused there is at least (and likely more) one problem caused by “the natives” that most likely did more serious damage, and this comes in the form of supporting socialist-type policies by voting oneself the national or state treasury in exchange for higher taxes and an inflated currency to boast the perception of wealth without increasing real wealth, mortgaging the future for short-term gains in the present.
California is “messed up” because of Americans, not because of Mexicans, and the same people who messed up California are now fleeing their dung heap and creating another in Texas, and the reason is because they are trying to do what is ‘good’ by social standards, but without any regard to principles of behavior, either that which caused California to become a dung heap or what they do now that is turning Texas into one.
This is also why so many people with evil desires love America, because as the country does not run by principle but fear and legalism in a reactionary setup, it can be easily exploited for easy financial gain.
If one wants to prepare for problems in the future, one should be aware that the time to get supplies is now because once a crisis begins, when people are told that such-and-such an item is ‘needed’, they will line up to fight for it with or without consideration to why they are fighting.
Indeed, the very thought of it is enough to make one want to take some Tylenol from the headache it causes.