SALT LAKE CITY — It's been two weeks since insulin drugmaker Eli Lilly announced certain items would be "temporarily out of stock" at the beginning of April.
Now one week into the month, Utahns with diabetes are desperate to find insulin.
"When I've tried to order it, it's always, 'We don't have it in stock' or 'It's on backorder,'" said Shayne Oleen.
"This is the first time ever I've ever ran into an issue obtaining insulin," added Sean Liston.
It took Oleen seven pharmacies until he found the life-saving drug. It took Liston twelve times.
"If they don't have it, they'll have high blood sugar levels leading to several complications, especially it'll start affecting their kidneys, their eyes, and other organs," explained Dr. Kaleem Mohammed at Olive Pharmacy.
Eli Lilly said the 10mL vials of Humalog and Insulin Lispro Injection will be shipped "as soon as we can."
Mohammed said Olive Pharmacy's supply has not been affected by the "supply challenge."
"A good alternative for those patients who cannot find vials is to switch to the pens which are available," said Mohammed.
Another roadblock many people are running into is that some alternatives are not prescribed or covered under insurance.
"Insulin is insulin, but you have to have the right name brand in order to get it covered and insurance isn't going to do it," said Oleen.
Liston has reached out to state officials and the companies themselves demanding a change to the system.
"We should have a better plan in place and if our local government can't help us, our federal government, I don't know what else we're going to do," he said.
