Flu vaccine? There's no stock for the private. “Only for risk groups”

Um month after the start of the seasonal influenza vaccination campaign, on 30 september, who tries to acquire the vaccine in the private container, either by medical recommendation or through vaccination campaigns promoted by companies, is left empty.

A round by News to Minutes together with two dozen pharmacies in the metropolitan area of Porto, in Grande Lisboa, in the Algarve and Alentejo it was possible to verify that the stock break in the private contingent is widespread. And the predictions are not encouraging.

A pharmacy located in the parish of Carnide, Lisbon, revealed to the News to Minutes who received 9 vaccines for the private contigent this year and does not expect to receive more until the end of winter.

“ The problem is not just here, it is at European level. They mentioned a replacement in November, but I don't believe it. There is only stock for risk groups”, explained the pharmacist who works there.

In Amadora, the case seems to have been even worse. “We only had two vaccines for the private contigent and, unfortunately, there is no forecast to receive again”, admitted one of the employees.

The same is true of Oeiras. “They finished and I don’t know if we ever have it again. There's no prediction. There's nowhere. We were the last to exhaust [in the municipality], but we no longer have”, reported the worker of one of the pharmacies of the district of Lisbon.

In Greater Porto and Alentejo there are still pharmacies that, although they have no provision, maintain the hope that the stock will be restored and put users on waiting lists.

In a pharmacy in Sotavento Algarvio the belief has faded. “We don’t. A lot of people have come here to acquire but we don't. There's only a few of them. It is a European problem but in Portugal it is still bigger because our vaccines are very cheap ", described an employee to the News to Minutes.

In the face of this scarcity, which can lead more people to the emergency room at the flu season, the News to Minutes sought clarifications with the Ministry of Health, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and the National Association of Pharmacies (ANF). In good time, only ANF responded.

Lack of stock does not reach risk groups

According to this association, “to date there is no indication of a lack of vaccines for persons eligible for free vaccination under the SNS Seasonal Vaccination Campaign, including the risk groups covered by the campaign”.

“The priority is to ensure vaccination of people at higher risk for severe disease, complications and hospitalization, according to the criteria defined by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS). At the moment, the information available indicates that the vaccines necessary for the free vaccination of the eligible population are ensured,” he said.

On the other hand, as far as the private contingent of influenza vaccines is concerned, there may be problems: “The situation identified at the beginning of the marketing year concerns the private quota of influenza vaccines, whose volume is lower than in previous years. Therefore, there may be occasional difficulties in accessing the vaccine through the private market, whose availability may vary throughout the campaign and between pharmacies”.

Although the ANF talks about a “point” problem, none of the pharmacies News to Minutes approached had vaccines, no prediction to receive more.

“Updating need” conditioned “production capacity”

The scenario in Portugal in the private market is not isolated and is accompanied by difficulties experienced in other European countries.

The cause may be related to the manufacturing process. “This is a situation that affects several European countries and will be related to the need to update simultaneously the three strains that make up the composition of the influenza vaccine, having conditioned the production capacity and the number of doses made available on the private market at the beginning of the campaign,” ANF explained News to Minutes.

Apart from pharmaceuticals not being able to produce the necessary changes in time taking into account a new strain of influenza virus, there is another problem.

According to british pressSanofi, one of the main producers of influenza vaccines, had to destroy a batch of two million vaccines. These vaccines were intended for the United Kingdom, which should be trying to compensate for the failure with other vaccines that were initially intended for other countries.

In addition, this year, according to the National Association of Pharmacies, “more people are covered by free vaccination, which may reduce demand in the private market”.

These aspects, combined with others, thus contributed to the scarcity of influenza vaccines not only in individual users, who have a medical prescription to buy them, but in the workplace. Several companies have been suspended (or postponed) their annual employee vaccination campaigns for lack of stock.

Dose booster with no confirmed date

For pharmacists, this is a situation that “must continue to be monitored”. However, for those waiting for a dose in the private container, the future scenario remains uncertain.

Ao News to Minutes, the NFA states that there is “the possibility that the private quota will be increased”, but admits that it does not have information “to confirm the volume or date of such reinforcement”, recalling that the vaccination campaign extends until March.

Asked about possible measures to prevent this situation in the future, the association explained that “it does not intervene in the process of defining or acquiring quantities intended for the private market”, since it is “an international challenge, which does not depend exclusively on Portugal”.

Nevertheless, it argues that in the future it will be crucial to “strengthen demand and availability monitoring, as well as to deepen cooperation among all stakeholders, to anticipate needs and ensure a response as adjusted as possible”.

Influenza vaccination has reached over 1 million people

On Tuesday, October 27, DGS revealed that more than 1.3 million people have been vaccinated against influenza since September 30, of which almost 700,000 have joined the seasonal campaign that will take place until the end of March.

By October 25, 1 339 486 doses of influenza vaccines had been administered, of which 689 106 in adherent pharmacies and 650 380 in National Health Service (SNS) units.

Among people aged 60 years or older, more than 1.1 million people had been vaccinated against influenza, corresponding to a coverage of 35.24%. In the 85-year-old group, this indicator reached 44.24%, with 177 882 people vaccinated. As for COVID-19, more than 600,000 people received seasonal vaccination, with the highest coverage among the older than 85 years (27.3%) and the lowest in the 60 to 69 years (9.12%).

Under this campaign, the SNS purchased more than 2.7 million doses of influenza vaccines than last year.

It is recalled that this year, DGS extended the criteria for free vaccination, including more users. The population eligible for influenza vaccination is now all children aged between six months and four years and users aged 60 years or older.

As for immunization against Covid-19, users aged 70 years and over are eligible. In the case of both the flu vaccine and the Covid-19 vaccine, all people with diseases that increase the risk of serious disease, regardless of age, are covered.