Across Canada, consumers notice bare shelves in their pharmacies during cold and flu season. Many have also turned to Twitter to document how difficult it is to find cough medicines for children and adults, throat lozenges, and cold medicines. While supply chain issues have been blamed for months as the reason behind the shortage, the chief pharmacist officer at the Canadian Pharmacists Association (CPhA) says the current problem is related to increased demand, with more people now infected with cold viruses and flu season intensifying. Also, Dr. Danielle Pace from CPhA told CTVNews.ca on Wednesday in a phone interview: "This is not a widespread drug manufacturing shortage. Products are arriving at pharmacies, but increased demand and patient needs are causing the empty shelves." Furthermore, this is the first cold/flu season people have experienced since the pandemic without physical distancing restrictions. Experts say the increase is due to people catching viruses because their immune systems have not been exposed for two years. Across Canada, the situation appears to be the same, as many have noticed a scarcity of cold/flu necessities on the shelves, with Pace saying: "It includes all across Canada, which is why we see it nationwide, it's something we are definitely monitoring." Instead, she recommends drinking plenty of fluids, resting, hot drinks for sore throats, and sinus rinses for congestion. Additionally, for those who prefer to take these products, it is believed that production levels between manufacturers were 35 percent higher than usual, as the inventory shortage is due to the spread of viral infections within communities. In the same context, Toronto emergency physician Kashif Pirzada said on Twitter that he and his family have suffered four colds since his eldest child returned to school, and he has seen more children coming to the hospital and receiving treatment this year with the return to school and the lifting of mask-wearing.