You might have some difficulties finding a flu shot right now in Nova Scotia, at least if you visit your local pharmacy.
That’s according to Diane Harpell, a Dartmouth pharmacy owner and chair of the Pharmacy Association of Nova Scotia, who says she’s now having to turn away patients who are looking to get the vaccine.
“Supply was running really well early on — we got a vaccine and we were able to meet a good part of demand, and then we sort of went in the dark,” Harpell tells Global News.
“We’ve just been waiting to get more supply, and a few lucky folks got more vaccine in, but I think we’re all in a similar situation to where I am now where this might be it, we just might not get any more vaccine.”
Harpell says demand for the vaccine this flu season came in early and fast, and while she was in good supply for the first couple months, she now says her orders aren’t being filled.
“It has been a little while since we’ve seen some. So we had three clinics booked last week, for example, and we had to cancel all of them. And we had three booked this week and we had to cancel all those as well,” Harpell says.
“So we’ve been sort of in a holding pattern over the last week or so without any vaccine and having to cancel the clinics we were told we’d have enough vaccine to cover. It’s been tough.”
“I asked for some more doses — begged for some more doses — to try to get especially to those high-risk patients in those buildings and was told maybe they might be able to get some to me, maybe not. So I’m hopeful, but at the same time, we’re going to have to wait and see how things play out.”
In an emailed statement, the Department of Health and Wellness assures Nova Scotians that there is not a province-wide flu shot shortage.
“We ordered more doses this year than we ever have, and we believe we will have enough for everyone who wants a vaccine this year,” writes a department spokesperson.
“We need people and providers to be patient. For providers, if you have a supply of vaccine, please share it with other providers within your communities; the vaccine is no good to anyone in storage. And for patients, if your usual provider is temporarily out of stock and you want your vaccine quickly, call around to other places — you should be able to find one.”
Harpell says the association continues to have conversations with Public Health on ways to improve product flows to pharmacies and communication to avoid these issues in the future.
“I’ve got patients that are now seeing us as the bad guy, and that’s hard, because we did plan and we did ask early on, ‘Should we hold on to this? Should we prioritize patients?’ and we were told to just to go for it and to make sure that anybody who was looking for their flu shot to make sure they get it,” Harpell says.
“Now I’ve got businesses and buildings I’ve had to cancel for, and that’s hard when you’re trying to protect patients.”
The association estimates 90 per cent of the province’s supply has already been used. More than 300 pharmacies in Nova Scotia are providing the flu shot under new rules due to COVID-19.
Comments