WINNIPEG -- Manitoba’s top doctor says the province still has enough doses of this year’s influenza vaccine to go around, even if some people have not been able to access it yet.
During a news conference on Friday, Dr. Brent Roussin, the chief provincial public health officer, was asked about the availability of the flu shot after receiving reports some places were running out of supply only weeks after receiving them.
“We ordered 20 per cent more flu shot this year, and so there isn’t a shortage,” he said.
“Of course every year we distribute to thousands of locations, so any one location might be out."
Roussin said this year the province has shipped out over 550,000 doses of the influenza vaccine.
“From our early reports, things coming in, there are hundreds of thousands of doses available to Manitobans right now,” he said. “So, there isn’t a shortage, but at certain locations, they may have been very apt at getting it into people’s arms, and that’s great, but overall, there isn’t a shortage right now.”
The province has encouraged Manitobans to get a flu shot this year during the COVID-19 pandemic, to help ease the strain on hospitals as they deal with the pandemic and respiratory virus season.
