Flu shots scarce at P.E.I. pharmacies

The supply of flu shots at Island pharmacies is extremely limited,though some pharmacies may have a few doses left, according to the P.E.I. Pharmacists Association.

ErinMacKenzie, executive director of the association, says peopleareencouraged to call ahead before making their way to pharmacies to get the vaccine.

"We have been very active in immunizing people right across the province for influenza and it seems that the supply that had been reserved has now been distributed," MacKenzie said.

Replacement vaccine will work, says province

In fact Health PEI says this season it has distributed 60,000 doses offlu vaccine to pharmacists, doctors, public health nurses and nurse practitioners.

A small quantity of another brand of flu vaccine calledFluviral has been orderedto try to fill the gap and get Islanders vaccinated, Health PEI has confirmed.

"Since the national stock of Fluzone has been depleted this season, the province has acquired doses of Fluviral for those individuals who have not yet received the flu vaccine this season but wish to do so," said a written statement from Health PEI to CBC.

"We are pleased that there is a vaccine that will reduce the chance of getting influenza and reduce the chance of complications related to the circulating strain of influenza this year in P.E.I."

Fluviral is a trivalent vaccine, which has two strains against Type-A influenzaand one against Type-B, MacKenzie said.

It consists of one less strain against Type-B influenza than Fluzone the vaccine the province has run out of.

"The strain of influenza circulating predominantly in Canada, and the only strain identified to date in any of the lab-confirmed cases in P.E.I. is the influenza A strain H1N1," Health PEI noted.

MacKenziesaid some pharmacies should have access to the newly-ordered vaccine by Tuesday.

More shots given this year

As of Jan.20, more than 29,000 vaccinations have been administered by pharmacists on P.E.I. That excludes the number administeredby physicians and nurses on the Island, MacKenzie said.

"That's more than we gave in the entire season last year, which runs typically from the middle of October until May," she said.

"With pharmacies being able to provide the service we're seeing that there's a lot more availability and there's a lot more visibility because folks do visit their pharmacies very frequently," MacKenzie said.

There is no charge for the vaccination for anyone on the Island with a P.E.I. health card, MacKenzie said,something else that could be contributing to the increased numbers of doses being administered.

"We're just extremely pleased people are looking after themselves and their communities and getting vaccinated," she said.

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