Influena vaccine shortages and swine flu

[Nik]

Luckily I had mine done earlier this week before the hospital started running dry on supplies. What are supply problems like up and down the country ? Have any community pharmacists had the vaccine or planning on trying to get it ?

[crit care]

but would they have to pay for it like everyone else in the none risk groups, i wouldn't have thought they are classed as NHS staff......i read the other day that part of the shortage is not being helped by other front line nhs staff coming forward and having the vaccine...

Mine hurt for a few days after having it with a small mini bruise to show for it! price you pay for health hey! and i am now suffering with a cold! bonus!

[Nik]

Aah but what price on safety ? One teenager (otherwise healthy) recently received tamiflu from local pharmacy found out this week that she died of swine flu.

[crit care]

but you could argue when the tamiflu was started in relation to the development of symptoms! i guess we expect all drugs to be life savers, especially when it comes to the likes of anti-virals and antibiotics..maybe its not the case

and i think a lot of the poeple who have died from swine flu, also have other complications (quite a sweeping generalisation to be made, but from my experience thats what ia hve seen/heard)..gone into multi organ failure..so its not just the swine flu (although it may be the main cause) there are other factors that need to be taken into account

[Nik]

I am particularly sceptical about the wily-nily prescribing of anti-virals as magic cures however where have all the flu vaccines gone ?!

[crit care]

not a question of where have they all gone! its where were they in the first place?? but i think the high risk and NHS took priority over them, leaving the joe public without!

just be sure to book yourself an ITU bed just in case

[bobbin]

Have any community pharmacists had the vaccine or planning on trying to get it ?

Nope, and wholesalers don't appear to stock flu vaccines anymore.

[tinx25388]

Yesterday we were the only place in the area with vaccines left, our Pharmacists did over 40 flu jabs between them, and at the end of the day there were only 20 left, and that is it- once they have gone we cannot get any more. (And on a seperate note, despite doing that many flu jabs, the non-pharmacist store manager was on their backs about why they hadn't done any MURs!)

Haven't had it myself, phobia of needles still manages to override common sense in my head!

[Pharmanaut]

(And on a seperate note, despite doing that many flu jabs, the non-pharmacist store manager was on their backs about why they hadn't done any MURs!)

The fact that there might be an epidemic looming is not on the plan and therefore shouldn't interfere with the MUR target. After all that target is sacrosanct.

[imaginegenerous]

Have any community pharmacists had the vaccine or planning on trying to get it ?

We only got 10 initially as I wasn't sure what the demand would be (this was some time before Christmas). We didn't have any enquiries until after the New Year and I think we've only got one left now. I think I've stabbed six people and the others have gone out against scripts. We had people rining up from about 40 miles away to see if we had any in stock so I had to start reserving them for people on a first come, first served basis. We've been informed by head office that it's highly unlikely that we'll get any Fluvirin back into stock before the end of the flu season and that's the only one we offer under the PGD.