MOLINE--Every day Amanda Peterson gets ready for the next day, packing up snacks for more than 20 kids at Red Wagon Day Care in Moline.
But you will never find peanuts on the menu, because one of her students is allergic.
“We have eliminated the possibility of him having a reaction, we’re a nut free facility. We’ve just eliminated the nuts from Red Wagon, so that takes a load off for snack times and meal times,” says Peterson, director of the Red Wagon Day Care.
The student’s mother Peterson says also makes sure her son’s EpiPen is always on hand, but there is only one in the day care and it expires next month.
“At the beginning of the school year, they said there was going to be a shortage, so she ordered this pen and she got it but it’s only good for so long,” says Peterson.
Allergist Dr. Mark Blaser says he started to warn his patients about the shortage months ago.
The FDA says EpiPens could still be used past the expiration dates, they also approved a generic form of the epinephrine injector but Dr. Blaser says it may not be as strong as the name brand.
“There aren’t really data saying that it’s not as good but the EpiPen company made definitive data about how much goes into the muscle and for how long and other companies have not done that,” says Blaser.
Manufactures of the EpiPen predict another shortage to start in January.
Parents tell Peterson, although they prefer the name brand medicine, something is better than nothing.