Influenza Information for Community Vaccine Providers, Including Indigenous Partners

Information on this page is for Community and Indigenous Vaccine Providers (CVPs) within Island Health, excluding community pharmacists. Community pharmacists access information through the BC Pharmacy Association.

The influenza vaccine will be more accessible this season with additional availability through public health clinics providing both COVID-19 and influenza vaccination from early-mid October through November. It is recommended that most people receive the influenza vaccine through pharmacies or public health clinics. Some primary care providers will have a very limited supply of vaccine in late October for individuals who may have difficulty accessing a community clinic (eg. mobility issues, homebound, etc.).

Medical Health Officer Newsletter

Medical Health Officer Newsletter

Vaccine Eligibility

Learn more about vaccine eligibility.

Vaccine Products

The following products will be available in B.C. this season:

Quadrivalent Live Attenuated Influenza Vaccine

Live attenuated influenza vaccine is made from weakened influenza viruses and is administered as an intranasal spray into both nostrils.

FLUMIST®

Individuals 2-17 years of age

Quadrivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccines

Injectable influenza vaccine is made from inactivated influenza viruses and is administered as an injection (shot).

FLUZONE®

Individuals 6 months of age and older

FLUZONE®
HIGH-DOSE

Individuals 65 years of age and older living in long-term care/assisted living facilities or living in First Nations communities

Trivalent Inactivated Influenza Vaccines

Injectable influenza vaccine is made from inactivated influenza viruses and is administered as an injection (shot).

FLAUD®

individuals 65 years of age and older

Ordering Vaccine

Vaccine Order Form

First Order: only request anticipated vaccine doses needed for the first two weeks.
Subsequent Orders: place as needed, doses on hand must be recorded on the vaccine order form. Forms with incomplete information including doses on hand will result in a delay in orders being filled, as public health will need to follow-up to request missing information. Allow at least 3 working days (Monday to Friday) to fill your order.
Primary care providers: influenza vaccine ordering should be the ‘exception’ and not the ‘norm’ this season. A much smaller vaccine supply will be available for PCPs and first delivery will be delayed until late October. Therefore, for this season PCPs should only order influenza vaccine for patients who have barriers to accessing vaccination clinics (eg. mobility issues, homebound). See MHO newsletter above for more information about flu vaccine distribution this season.

Health Unit Distribution Plan

The Ministry of Health is prioritizing access to flu vaccine at pharmacies and public health clinics to allow individuals access to COVID-19 and influenza vaccine during the same visit.
Public health receives regular shipments of influenza vaccine from BCCDC between late September – December. These shipments arrive with an initial shipment of approximately 40% of the overall allotment for all providers followed by smaller allotments in subsequent weeks. Community vaccine providers can expect their flu vaccine to be allocated and distributed in the same way.
Vaccine will be distributed to providers based on vaccine supply and the number of vaccine doses administered/wasted by each provider last influenza season.
If planning a large flu clinic, include the details on the vaccine order form including the clinic date and expected doses needed.
Influenza vaccine will be distributed based on available supply. If an ordered vaccine is no longer available, an equivalent product will be supplied.
If no vaccine product is available or a substitution is not acceptable, you will be notified by the local health unit.

Start placing vaccine orders the week of October 3 (for distribution the following week)