Flu vaccine providers face shortage

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This article was published 04/10/2019 (2373 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A shortage of influenza vaccines for Manitoba has at least one Brandon pharmacist concerned as flu season approaches.

“Of course, it worries us,” said Jennifer Ludwig, owner/manager of the Super Thrifty pharmacy on Richmond Avenue.

The pharmacy puts in its orders for flu vaccines in the summer, and the province distributes them on a rotating provider basis, said Ludwig, who is also a past president of the College of Pharmacists of Manitoba.

Last year, she was in the first of four waves of providers receiving the vaccines. This year, she’s in the second wave.

“I knew about that delay,” Ludwig said. “But now with this, it’s going to push me back even further, and it’s pushing us back further into the actual flu season, so the risk of not being able to prevent disease increases.”

She added that by receiving a lower number of vaccinations than she had requested, “there would be a risk that at some point we would be turning people away, for sure.”

Patients could be turned away at the beginning of the season, when they don’t have the vaccinations yet, or at the end when they run out, Ludwig said.

A notice on the Manitoba government’s Health, Seniors and Active Living website said all manufacturers supplying Canada with influenza vaccine are experiencing shortages or delays in the delivery of their vaccines for various reasons.

“This will result in delays of vaccine delivery to Manitoba and may also impact the volume of influenza vaccines that were anticipated in Manitoba. All provinces and territories are impacted by this situation, and it is beyond the control of the provinces and territories, including Manitoba.”

The notice said all health-care provider orders are being reduced to ensure that as many locations as possible receive vaccines as quickly as possible. Additional health-care provider orders will depend on vaccine availability, it said. Product substitutions will occur depending on the products that are available.

“Due to uncertainty around the volume of doses that will be received by Manitoba and the date when these doses will arrive in Manitoba, the shipping schedule is not known at this time,” the notice states. “Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living will update the distribution timelines online at Manitoba.ca/fludistribution when more information becomes available.”

Ludwig, who has been a pharmacist at Super Thrifty since 2008 and owner since 2012, said while drug shortages are becoming a “huge issue” for pharmacists, “this is the first time, me personally, that I’ve seen it happening with the influenza vaccines that we’ve been told that there’s a shortage with what Manitoba can actually get” as opposed to cutbacks from Manitoba Health.

Brandon-based Super Thrifty Canada Ltd. has 12 Manitoba pharmacies under its umbrella.

Meanwhile, Brandon has two influenza and pneumococcal immunization clinics scheduled in November. One is set for the Brandon Regional Health Centre’s nurses’ residence gym Nov. 6-8. Another is set for Nov. 12 and Nov. 14 at the public health office at 800 Rosser Ave.

A Manitoba government spokeswoman said Wednesday Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living has notified health-care providers across the province of national delays in the supply of influenza vaccine.

The spokeswoman said people can minimize the risk of getting or spreading seasonal flu by shielding their coughs and sneezes, washing their hands regularly and staying home when they are sick.

“Prairie Mountain Health, like all health-care providers across the province, have been notified about supply delays for this year’s flu vaccine,” CEO Penny Gilson said in an emailed response to the Sun.

“We continue to work with Manitoba Health, Seniors and Active Living (MHSAL) to determine to what extent, locally, the delays will have.”

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