Some who had not registered or booked appointments were able to get flu shots at pharmacies, while others reported being turned away and told to register on the GetVaccinated website
Flu shots got off to a bumpy start in BC this week with confusion over the province’s new registration system and computer and phone issues.
For the first time in BC, flu shots are available for free to anyone six months of age and older, administered at about 1,300 pharmacies, health authority clinics and some primary care provider offices.
They are available from October 3 for people aged 65 and over and for others at higher risk of serious illness or complications.
The rollout in Victoria and Vancouver quickly proved chaotic: some who hadn’t registered or booked appointments were able to get flu shots at pharmacies, while others reported being turned away and told to register at GetVaccinated website.
Some were told to wait for invitations from the province to book a flu shot, while others who had booking invitations were unable to book an appointment through the GetVaccinated.gov.bc.ca website or by phone
Family physician Dr. Anna Wolak, clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University of British Columbia, said when she tried to take her own family to a nearby pharmacy for a flu shot, she was told that he was waiting for an invitation from the province. .
He said it’s puzzling that at a time when the province is trying to encourage more people to get vaccinated in anticipation of an increase in flu cases, people are being asked to sign up for the shot “when it’s never existed this requirement” in the past. .
“Everybody is confused now,” Wolak said in an interview Wednesday. “I’ve had a lot of confusion today about when people can book their flu shot or where they can go to get their shot.”
The Ministry of Health said that while people are encouraged to register for their flu shots through the GetVaccinated website, walk-in appointments remain available at many pharmacies across the province.
“Don’t worry, if you show up for a COVID-19 booster appointment at a pharmacy and if the pharmacy has flu vaccine stock available, they can provide it to you,” the ministry said in a statement.
While some pharmacies in Vancouver and Victoria did walk-ins on Wednesday, Wolak said she hadn’t found any pharmacies in her neighborhood that did.
Public health officials are looking at the flu season in the southern hemisphere, where the season started earlier and infection rates were higher than in 2020 and 2021, to help predict the severity of the season in the ‘northern hemisphere
In August, Australia reported it was experiencing its worst flu season in five years, and cases are already on the rise in the United States. Other respiratory illnesses are also expected to increase this fall, in part because people who have not been exposed to the flu for at least two years during the pandemic are expected to have less immunity.
The flu virus mutates and requires a new vaccine strain composition every year, according to the World Health Organization’s annual recommendations.
Those who want to get a COVID-19 shot and a flu shot in one appointment can book through the government’s GetVaccinated website or by calling 1-833-838-2323 any day of the week from 7: 00 to 19:00.
However, a flaw in the provincial registration system is that users cannot reserve a COVID vaccine one day and schedule a flu vaccine for another day of the week. Instead, the system requires the user to receive a vaccine first before they can book a second one.
In some cases on Tuesday and Wednesday, users were unable to see a checkbox to reserve a flu shot.
“Our team at ImmunizeBC is making real-time updates to ensure this doesn’t continue to happen,” the Ministry of Health said in a statement, apologizing for the errors and asking users to try the GetVaccinated phone number if not they can complete their reservation. on line.
“As has happened with all our vaccination campaign launches, we know that some people experience errors at first,” the ministry said.
Pharmacist Denny Ng, owner of Shoppers Drug Mart in Esquimalt, said he has received many flu shots at his Esquimalt pharmacy. “The only problem is the lack of manpower, we just don’t have all the manpower we had years ago.”
Pharmacists are giving vaccinations against COVID-19 and also against the flu. Ng said walk-ins are welcome, but advises people to register through the provincial website for flu shots because when the pharmacy is too busy, it will have to turn people away.
Ng offers those coming in for a COVID-19 shot the chance to get a flu shot at the same time.
The arm may be a little more sore the next day, but “eight out of 10 say yes” for comfort, he said.
BC plans to distribute about 1.8 million doses of flu vaccine for the 2022-23 flu season, including about 660,000 doses of enhanced vaccine for seniors.
ceharnett@timescolonist.com