Hundreds of people in pharmacies ask for the flu shot every day. When will it be available for purchase again?

It seems that Poles have listened to the doctors who urge them – especially this year – to get vaccinated against the flu. The interest in the vaccine is huge, but the preparation is not available in pharmacies or wholesalers. When will it appear again? We check.

1. Currently, flu vaccines are available only in a few percent of pharmacies in Poland, according to the data of the website WherePoLek.pl. This availability sometimes means a few packages that quickly disappear
2. There are also no vaccines in wholesalers. The last larger shipment of the most popular Vaxigrip Tetra vaccine was around September 10
3. The Ministry of Health announced that over 2,5 million doses will be delivered to Poland. So far, it has hit less than 1 million
4. In some pharmacies, the question about the availability of vaccines is asked up to 300 times a day. Pharmacists don’t even want to put customers on waiting lists anymore. They openly say that vaccines are not enough for everyone
5. You can find more such stories on the TvoiLokony home page

Our readers are concerned about the lack of flu vaccine available. Every day, the MedTvoiLokony editorial staff receives questions of similar content:

Hello,

I am 65+, since the beginning of September I have been trying to buy an influenza and pneumococcal vaccine, assurances of the Ministry and the National Program for Combating Influenza »the availability of vaccines is one big” scam “, the local pharmacies to which I have been calling for over a month have stopped even giving the possible delivery date, I am resident of a village near Krakow – Myślenice.

or:

Hello, I would like to buy a flu vaccine for my parents? I have probably visited all the pharmacies in my city and nothing. Everywhere they spread their hands helplessly. Parents have been vaccinating for several years. And this year?

So where are the vaccines we are so intensely looking for? What does the wholesaler supply look like? Is there a chance that they will return to the market? If yes then when? We decided to check it out.

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Ten times more vaccinations

– The interest in influenza vaccines is ten times greater than in previous years – said the chairman of the Scientific Council of the National Program for Combating Influenza Prof. Adam Antczak during the “Flu Forum 2020” conference, which took place in Warsaw on September 29 this year.

1. There is a huge interest in influenza vaccines due to problems with availability

This means that Poles heard the calls of representatives of the medical community, encouraging them to get vaccinated against the flu. In recent years, the vaccination coverage rate in our country fluctuated around 4 percent. Therefore, compared to other European countries, we fare dramatically poorly. The low vaccination rate among people over 65 is particularly worrying. In Poland, it is 9,7 percent. The average for the entire EU is 41,4 percent. and worse than in Poland – among all EU countries – only in Bulgaria.

1. How many seniors in Poland get vaccinated against the flu? We are in the tail of Europe

However, it seems that fear of being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has increased our awareness of the benefits of influenza vaccination. Although it is not able to protect us from infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, it facilitates the differentiation of both diseases. It is also able to protect us against flu complications that may end up in a hospital stay. And these, in the era of the ever-growing SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemic, are very burdened. a growing epidemic.

How many doses of the vaccine does Poland need?

In the 2019/2020 season, 1 thousand were sold in our country. flu vaccine doses. According to the Ministry of Health, 582 percent were vaccinated. society and nearly 4,12 thousand. unsold doses were disposed of.

At the beginning of October, the ministry announced that by the end of September, 972 jobs had been delivered to Poland. influenza vaccine packs.

«Vaccines are traded in accordance with the pharmaceutical law. The Ministry of Health turned to vaccine suppliers and the deliveries were confirmed in accordance with earlier declarations – in October 649 thousand. These are only the quantities of vaccines admitted to trading in the territory of the Republic of Poland and confirmed by producers. In addition, the Ministry of Health grants permission to import vaccines as part of target import. We have currently approved over 2,8 million doses of vaccines »- said spokesman for the Ministry of Health, Wojciech Andrusiewicz.

1. Do you want a flu shot? We explain how to do this

A tense situation in pharmacies: up to 300 questions about the vaccine a day

According to the UCE RESEARCH survey conducted on October 1-3 for the money.pl portal, 69 percent. of pharmacies declare that they do not carry out reservations for customers or waiting lists for a vaccine. However, 29,5 percent. of such places, he admits that such lists were created, but today it is impossible to add to them, because preparations are not enough for all interested parties. In 1 percent pharmacies can be added to the waiting list, but without any guarantees. There are institutions where 150-500 people signed up. The same study found information that in some pharmacies the question about a deficit vaccine is asked even about 300 times a day. However, in the last deliveries, several items were imported. And it didn’t matter that, for example, 50 of them were ordered.

Vaccines in pharmacies: they come and go immediately

The data provided by the website WherePoLek.pl shows that at the beginning of September, pharmacies received a batch of the Vaxigrip Tetra flu vaccine. On September 2, 48 percent had at least one packaging. Polish pharmacies, September 3 – already 53 percent Then, day after day, the number of pharmacies where you could buy this product dropped rapidly. From September 9, the percentage of pharmacies that reported the availability of the preparation ranged between 1% and 4%.

The remaining influenza vaccines that are authorized for sale in Poland were even more difficult to obtain. Influvac Tetra appeared on October 1 in 5 percent. pharmacies, and Fluenz Tetra – in 13 percent, but both preparations disappeared from pharmacy shelves within 1-2 days. Fluarix Tetra has not been supplied to pharmacies for many weeks.

Vaccines, when they reach pharmacies, disappear almost immediately. The animation prepared by the website WherePoLek.pl, which is available at this address, clearly shows that in the period between September 29 and October 2, the Influvac vaccine was available only in a few percent of pharmacies in Poland, although this “availability” sometimes meant 3 or 4 packages . In general, in most large cities, the number of pharmacies that had even a small supply of the product for a few hours rarely exceeded 5%.

What did this mean for patients willing to vaccinate? Circulating from pharmacy to pharmacy with a vaccine prescription in hand, calling other pharmacies with questions about availability, stress and frustration. For some, it is also a joy that luck was good and the vaccine was bought. But this stroke of luck happened to really few.

Vaccines in wholesalers: no deliveries from mid-September

Since flu vaccines are not available in pharmacies, neither are they in wholesalers. According to the data provided by the WherePoLek.pl website, only two large deliveries of the Vaxigrip vaccine took place in September – at the beginning of the month and around September 10. Since then, there have been practically no supplies, and currently the vaccine is available in 1%. pharmacies all over Poland.

Why is it so hard to buy the flu vaccine this year?

Difficult access to the vaccine is nothing more than an effect of the low interest in vaccinations in recent years. The vaccine is produced once a year – between February and April. This year, therefore, was based on data from last year, when there was no talk of a pandemic yet.

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– We are to blame for ourselves, as a society – explains prof. dr. hab. n. med. Robert Flisiak, head of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Hepatology at the Medical University of Białystok and president of the Polish Society of Epidemiologists and Doctors of Infectious Diseases. – We did not get vaccinated for years, vaccines were purchased for 1,5 million people last year, and some doses have been wasted anyway. The producers plan to produce as many doses as they are able to sell. The vaccine is scheduled to be produced around February. So this year, the same amount has been planned as in previous years, which seems quite reasonable. In other countries, where the vaccination coverage is incomparably higher than in Poland, there is also an increased demand. So let’s not be under the illusion that someone will suddenly provide us with enormous amounts of vaccine. We are happy if the number of vaccines available on the market can be increased from 1,5 to 2 million doses – adds Prof. Flisiak.

When will vaccines return to pharmacies?

According to information from the Ministry of Health, less than 2,5 million of the announced over 1 million doses have been delivered to Poland so far. In October, pharmacies are expected to hit almost 650. doses. When exactly?

According to the data collected by the WherePoLek.pl website, provided by pharmacists, the chances of buying the Fluenz Tetra vaccine are the greatest (although still minimal) – a batch of the product was delivered to pharmacies at the end of September, currently the product is still available in 5%. pharmacies across the country.

The three remaining vaccines are virtually unavailable. When will they return to pharmacy shelves? Depending on the product, this is expected to happen on the following dates:

* Vaxigrip Tetra – mid-October

* Influvac Tetra – at the end of October

* Fluarix Tetra – to be available only in November.

Read also:

1. Can I get flu and COVID-19 at the same time? Unfortunately yes
2. COVID-19 and the flu in September. How many people got sick, how many died? Tally
3. Influenza vaccines will be rationed. The Ministry of Health introduces limitations