Flu shot demand up and getting more supply won’t be easy

As demand for flu shots appears to be up across the country, the Public Health Agency of Canada is working with suppliers to order more doses — a feat that could prove more difficult than it sounds.

In a written statement, an official from the federal agency said production of flu vaccine is usually finished by the end of October. Canada can only find additional doses from other countries that ordered more than they can use, or possibly from suppliers who produced more doses per batch than expected.

“Discussions are continuing with Canada’s influenza vaccine suppliers to identify any additional vaccine that they may have available for Canada,” said the statement sent late Wednesday.

It will not be until later this month, or early in December, that the agency will know if more doses can be found, the statement said.

Public health officials and politicians have asked “every” Canadian to get vaccinated against influenza so that hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19 don’t also get hit with a flu-season tsunami.

Orders for the flu vaccine begin in February, based on last year’s uptake. Provinces submit their requests to the Public Health Agency of Canada, which puts in a bulk order.

The agency’s statement said this year it asked provinces to consider revising their asks, given the pandemic. Every province then ordered more than last year, most by at least 20 per cent.

Nationally, the public health agency says more than 13.9 million doses have been secured now, compared to 11.2 million in 2019.

Cole Davidson, a spokesman for federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu, said Thursday that 95 per cent of those doses have now been delivered to the provinces.

“Protecting the health and safety of Canadians is our top priority. With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, we knew that seasonal flu shots would play a more important role than ever before in protecting the health of Canadians,” said Davidson.

“That’s why we encouraged provinces and territories to review and assess their needs, and worked with them to make Canada’s highestever order of seasonal flu shots.”

The order is enough to inoculate about 37 per cent of Canadians.

Since flu-shot season began last month, there have been reports in many provinces of a significant uptick in demand, with long lines outside pharmacies, appointments at public health clinics booked solid and some doctors’ offices saying they did not receive enough vaccine to fulfil their patients’ requests for it.