by Henry Tempelman, Pharmacist/Owner of Kakabeka & Rosslyn IDA Pharmacies
Is it just me, or did October disappear faster than our flu vaccine supply?!
The Ministry of Health’s initial allotment of flu vaccine for each pharmacy in Ontario was equal to 50% of their total doses administered last flu season. We got our supply Tuesday, October 6th and we were out of stock at both our Rosslyn & Kakabeka locations by Saturday, October 10th! We did half the amount of last year’s total flu shots in less than a week! We wish we could reorder vaccines right away, but the Ministry of Health was very strict and would not allow reorders to occur until October 26th. Patient uptake is way up thus far, with recommendations from health experts that this year it is very important to be up to date on your vaccines.
Like Rick Mercer said, on CBC’s This Hour Has 22 Minutes “You’ve never been hit by a car before, but you still look both ways when you cross the street, right?” Just because you haven’t had the flu in the last few years doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get the flu shot to protect you and your loved ones. It’s the best thing you can do to protect against the flu, especially in a year when you want to avoid being any type of sick.
As Devon wrote last month, this is the first year that pharmacies are able to administer both the High Dose (HD) Senior flu vaccine and regular flu vaccine. We’ve had many requests for the high dose flu vaccine, and also many questions asking what really is the difference between the high dose flu vaccine and the regular vaccine?
The senior vaccine is a “High Dose Trivalent Influenza Vaccine” (HDTIV). It covers 2 influenza A strains and 1 influenza B strain. In a study where it was compared to its regular strength trivalent flu vaccine counterpart (which is no longer used), it resulted in less hospitalizations for seniors. The HDTIV vaccine is only available to people ages 65+.
The regular vaccine offered at pharmacies this year is a “Quadrivalent Influenza Vaccine” (QIV). It covers 2 influenza A strains and 2 influenza B strains and is indicated in ages 6 months+. The extra B strain that the QIV covers is a strain that is prevalent in young children, which one could argue might be beneficial for grandparents who are in regular contact with young children. Note that the HDTIV and QIV vaccines have not been directly compared in a study and there is no evidence to support one to be superior or inferior to the other.
The Ministry is only providing pharmacies with a limited supply of the HDTIV vaccine, and they will not provide us with the quantity that will be made available to each pharmacy. Ask our pharmacists which vaccine they recommend for you. Patients with COPD, cancer, immunocompromised, heart failure or over 80 years old may benefit from the HDTIV, but rest assured the regular QIV offers good influenza protection. You should not skip the QIV in hopes of finding an HDTIV at another pharmacy, as they also have limited quantities and may also be out of stock. The sooner you get your shot, the sooner you are protected (it can take two weeks for your body to build immunity after receiving the flu vaccine). The best flu shot you get is the one you get today.
At the time of writing, we are expecting to resume flu shots in our pharmacies Monday, October 26th. We have been doing our best to book and maintain appointments for flu shots, in an effort to control patient traffic and prevent crowds. Walk-Ins may be accepted depending on appointment availability. Please call the pharmacy and speak with our friendly staff to book an appointment for you and your family. Please remember that flu shots are subject to availability and unfortunately it can be out of our control, due to Ministry allocation.
We will also be holding a Flu Clinic at the Kakabeka Legion (and possibly Oliver Paipoonge Community Centre) in early November. We are unable to announce a date in this article because we want to make sure we will have appropriate stock on hand to properly serve a clinic. We should know more the week of October 26th. Stay tuned for signage in the pharmacy and around the village along with highway sign in front of the Legion for clinic dates!
Thanks for your patience through the first wave of flu shots. If we were unable to serve you because of supply issues then we look forward to seeing you again in November to ensure you’re protected!
