Back-to-school rush spurs demand for epinephrine auto-injectors amid shortage

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Back-to-school rush spurs demand for epinephrine auto-injectors amid shortage

As part of the back-to-school rush, GoodRx, a platform for medication savings, reports the demand for epinephrine (EpiPen, EpiPen Jr, Adrenaclick, Auvi-Q) auto-injectors tends to spike in the summer months. And this season’s demand may intensify existing shortages of this lifesaving medication.

Epinephrine prescriptions typically peak in August as parents and schools create anaphylaxis emergency care plans and scramble to refill the auto-injector supply before the new school year begins. In previous years, there’s been a nearly 33% increase in fills from July to August. As of this July, overall prescription fills of EpiPen are already higher compared to previous years.

Key takeaways:

• Epinephrine is a lifesaving medication that can quickly treat severe allergic reactions. But, like all medications, it has a limited shelf life.
• Epinephrine auto-injector fills tend to increase during the summer as families and schools restock and make plans for a safe return back to school.
• This seasonal demand may worsen existing shortages of the medication.

GoodRx

As of June 25, 2025, several epinephrine auto-injectors were facing a shortage. Mylan (EpiPen and EpiPen Jr) has been experiencing back orders for auto-injectors and hasn’t been able to estimate a release date for the back orders.

A supply disruption often leads to a medication shortage. During a shortage, a pharmacy may not be able to fill all or part of a prescription. In this case, patients may need to seek an alternative or wait for availability.

How to navigate this shortage

Here’s what to do if you can’t fill your epinephrine due to shortages.

• Talk to your pharmacist. They may be able to direct you to a different pharmacy that has epinephrine. Or they may know when a new shipment will arrive.
• Speak to your prescriber. They may also be able to help you find a pharmacy with epinephrine or can suggest an alternative. The FDA approved neffy, the first needle-free spray for anaphylaxis, on Aug. 9, 2024. Your prescriber can tell you whether the nasal spray is an option for you.
• Reach out to your insurance. They may be able to expand coverage for an alternative, such as neffy.

While it may be tempting, it’s not recommended to use epinephrine after its expiration date.

How much do epinephrine auto-injectors cost?

If you’re paying out of pocket, the average cash price for a pack of two injectors can range from nearly $300 to over $850. The top three most-filled epinephrine auto-injectors are the cheaper, generic ones (see table below). Beyond generics, you may be able to save on epinephrine with patient assistant programs or coupons.

In general, most Medicare and insurance plans cover epinephrine auto-injectors. But they may restrict the amount they’ll cover.

GoodRx

The bottom line

Epinephrine auto-injector fills increase as students get ready to go back to school. The increase in demand may cause some supply-chain strain due to an existing shortage. Talk to your prescriber about alternatives if you’re having trouble filling your prescription.

Methodology

Using a representative sample of U.S. prescription fills, GoodRx calculated the fill rate as the number of fills for epinephrine auto-injectors divided by the number of fills of all drugs, excluding vaccines. Prescription fills were reported from retail pharmacies from Jan. 1, 2021, to July 15, 2025.

Epinephrine medications included in analysis: epinephrine (EpiPen), epinephrine (Adrenaclick), epinephrine (EpiPen Jr), EpiPen, EpiPen Jr, Auvi-Q.

This story was produced by GoodRx and reviewed and distributed by Stacker.