In a recent campaign video, former President Donald Trump blasted President Joe Biden for “a catastrophic increase” in drug shortages.
“It’s a mess,” Trump said in the video, adding that new drug shortages were up last year by 30%, with “295 active drug shortages” by the end of 2022.
The continued availability of lifesaving drugs is a concern in this country. Reports of shortages of medicines on which many Americans rely — from widely used cancer medications like cisplatin to over-the-counter painkillers such as Children’s Tylenol — have been widespread in recent years. The shortages have caused treatment delays or forced clinicians to substitute alternatives in place of preferred therapies.
