Some Nova Scotia pharmacies are running low on the flu vaccine and they likely won’t be restocked until the end of the week.
This is the first year flu shots have been offered at pharmacies in the province and 60,000 people have taken advantage of the service – about 40,000 more than the anticipated 20,000.
Pharmacists say people appreciate the convenience of stopping into their local pharmacy to get a flu shot, rather than waiting in line at the doctor’s office.
The recent H1N1 scare is also adding to the spike in people seeking the vaccine and pharmacists are having a hard time keeping up with the demand.
“That puts us in a challenging spot because there isn’t enough stock at the moment to handle all the new need,” says Andrew Buffett, board chair of the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia.
Buffett also oversees six pharmacies in the Halifax, Elmsdale and Stewiacke areas.
“One of our pharmacists, Bob, got 40 shots in, I believe it was Friday evening, and within two or three hours, had gone through all of them,” says Buffett.
Many pharmacists say they will have to start turning people away, until they get more of the vaccine in stock.
“We’re hearing that people are going to one or two or three pharmacies sometimes, are having to do that to actually find the vaccine,” says Dr. Frank Atherton, Nova Scotia’s deputy chief medical officer of health.
However, Atherton says there is still vaccine in the province and says a shortage isn’t the issue. Instead, he says distribution is the problem.
“What’s really happening now is that there’s a distribution issue and we’re looking to try and move vaccine from areas of relatively low demand to areas were demand is very high,” he says.
Roughly 435,000 doses of flu vaccine have been distributed in Nova Scotia - enough doses to vaccinate 47 per cent of the population, and higher than in any other province.
Atherton says there are approximately 3,000 doses still sitting in Public Health offices that can be redistributed, and another 9,600 doses are expected to arrive in Nova Scotia later this week.
“They’re just giving a little bit to each location as the weeks go by, and also, they’re asking us to share around,” explains Buffett.
“If one pharmacy…hasn’t used all theirs, they’re expected to share, and we’re seeing some of that as well.”
New Brunswick has seen a similar trend with spikes in demand, and a few minor delays, but the chief medical officer of health says there is enough supply.
Prince Edward Island doesn’t offer flu shots through pharmacies.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Jacqueline Foster
