Current Drug Shortages: Which Medications Are Scarce Today in 2025

As of December 2025, more than 270 medications are still in short supply across the United States - a number that hasn’t dropped below 250 since 2022. This isn’t a temporary hiccup. It’s a systemic failure that’s forcing doctors to delay treatments, hospitals to ration life-saving drugs, and patients to wait weeks for basic therapies. If you or someone you know relies on chemotherapy, IV fluids, or even common antibiotics, you’re likely feeling the impact right now.

What’s Actually in Short Supply?

• 5% Dextrose Injection (small volume bags) - Used to deliver medications and hydrate patients. Shortage started in February 2022, expected to last until August 2025.
• 50% Dextrose Injection - Critical for treating severe low blood sugar. Shortage began in December 2021, with no clear end date.
• Cisplatin - A top chemotherapy drug for testicular, ovarian, and lung cancers. A 2022 FDA shutdown of an Indian manufacturing plant cut supply by half. Hospitals now ration it, prioritizing patients with the best survival odds.
• Vancomycin - One of the last-resort antibiotics for deadly infections. Shortages have worsened as resistant bacteria spread.
• Levothyroxine - The main treatment for hypothyroidism. Demand has surged 30% since 2020, but production hasn’t kept up.
• GLP-1 agonists (e.g., semaglutide, liraglutide) - Used for diabetes and weight loss. Demand jumped 35% annually since 2020. Pharmacies now limit prescriptions to 30-day supplies.
• Saline solution (0.9% sodium chloride) - Used in nearly every hospital procedure. Even basic IV fluids are running low in many rural clinics.

These aren’t rare cases. The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) says 63% of hospital pharmacists spend over 10 hours a week just tracking down available drugs. That’s 10 hours they’re not spending on patient care.

Why Are These Drugs So Hard to Find?

Over 80% of the raw ingredients for U.S. drugs come from just two countries: India and China. India supplies 45% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), and China supplies 25%. When a factory in Hyderabad fails an FDA inspection - like the one that halted cisplatin production - it doesn’t just affect one hospital. It affects every patient in the country who needs that drug.

Generic drugs make up 90% of prescriptions but only 20% of drug revenue. Manufacturers make razor-thin profits - often just 5% to 8% - so they have no incentive to invest in backup equipment, extra staff, or local warehouses. When a machine breaks or a shipment gets delayed, they don’t have the cash to fix it fast.

Brand-name drugs? They’re less affected. Companies like Pfizer or Merck make 30% to 40% profit margins. They keep domestic production lines running and have buffer stock. But for the cheap, essential meds that most people rely on? No safety net.

Who’s Getting Hurt?

According to a 2024 AMA survey, 78% of physicians reported treatment delays because of drug shortages. Nearly half said they had to switch patients to less effective alternatives. One oncologist in Ohio told Reddit users that his team had to delay cisplatin for a 24-year-old with ovarian cancer because the hospital only had enough for patients with testicular cancer - where the drug works best. That patient waited 18 days. Her cancer progressed.

For cancer patients, the average delay due to shortages is 14.7 days. That’s not just a wait. It’s a window where tumors grow, spread, and become harder to treat.

Even simple conditions are affected. A diabetic patient who can’t get levothyroxine for a month may develop heart problems. A child with a severe ear infection might not get vancomycin on time and could face permanent hearing loss.

And it’s not just hospitals. Community pharmacies are running out too. In rural areas, patients are driving 50 miles to find saline or insulin. Some are skipping doses. Others are buying from unregulated online sellers - a dangerous gamble.

What’s Being Done?

Some states are trying their own fixes. New York is building a public database so patients and providers can see which pharmacies still have a drug in stock. Hawaii now allows Medicaid to cover foreign-approved versions of drugs during shortages - something the FDA normally blocks.

Pharmacists are stepping in too. In 47 states, they can swap a shortage drug for a therapeutically equivalent one. But only 19 states let them do it without calling a doctor first. That means delays - sometimes hours - while waiting for approval.

ECRI, a healthcare safety group, recommends hospitals keep a 30-day emergency stock of critical drugs. But only 28% of hospitals can afford it. The cost? $100,000 to $500,000 per facility. Most can’t justify it when the next shortage might be months away.

What You Can Do

1. Call your pharmacy ahead. Don’t assume they have it. Ask if they’re expecting a shipment this week.
2. Ask your doctor about alternatives. For many drugs - like levothyroxine or certain antibiotics - there are generics or similar drugs that work just as well.
3. Don’t stockpile. Hoarding makes shortages worse. If you need 30 days’ worth, get 30 days’ worth. Taking extra puts others at risk.
4. Report a shortage. If your pharmacy runs out and the FDA’s list doesn’t show it yet, report it at fda.gov/drugshortages. The FDA’s new portal has already acted on over 1,000 reports since January 2025.
5. Stay informed. Bookmark the ASHP Drug Shortages Database. It’s updated daily and lists expected resolution dates.

What’s Next?

The real solution? Fix the supply chain. Build domestic API production. Fund incentives for manufacturers to keep backup lines running. Create a national early warning system that connects manufacturers, distributors, and hospitals in real time.

Until then, the burden falls on patients, pharmacists, and doctors - who are doing their best with broken tools.