BUFFALO, N.Y. — With flu season now upon us, we are hearing from many of you who have had difficulty in getting a flu shot.
While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not officially declared a flu vaccine shortage, we are hearing from people that they’ve had a tough time finding one particular type of flu vaccine.
"The only issue that I've come upon is actually for my children, and then when I called their pediatrician to get them in, they said that they ... ran out of the vaccine," said Hilary Roe of North Tonawanda, who wanted to get her two kids their flu shot two weeks ago but was told to call back, unlike past years, when getting the flu shot was no problem at all.
"It seemed to be the delivery issue. They were supposed to get it on a certain date, and then didn't know. My kids have been going to the same pediatrician for, my oldest is 10, and this is the first time that we've run into any issues with scheduling the vaccine at all," Roe said.
We've heard from many of you on social media with similar stories of delay.
On the flip side, we're hearing from a lot of you who haven't had any issues getting a flu shot either from their doctor or a pharmacy.
There are reports nationally of high dose flu shots for seniors running low and that's something we're hearing locally as well.
In a statement, the state Department of Health says it has not been told of any anticipated delays in getting flu shots.
“With the possibility of a resurgence of COVID-19 this fall and winter, it is particularly important for everyone to get a flu shot to protect against the flu. While healthcare providers obtain flu vaccine directly from vaccine producers or third-party distributors, neither the CDC or manufactures have notified us of any anticipated delays. In fact, the CDC estimates a record number of flu vaccine doses are being manufactured this year. The Department recommends New Yorkers use the vaccine finder to locate a provider or pharmacy that has the vaccine available.”
The CDC says manufacturers of flu vaccines have projected nearly 200 million flu shots will be distributed this flu season, a record number. Roe says her kids are getting their flu shots Saturday.
"I don't want to chance myself or my children getting sick, and then compounding with COVID, I don't want to take any chances," Roe said.
There are several different types of flu vaccine this year. The Erie County Department of Health says not all pharmacies will have each type.
Public health officials say flu vaccines will be crucial this flu season to reduce respiratory illness and impacts on healthcare systems.