New Zealand Restricts Flu Vaccines As Supplies Runs Short

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Driven, undoubtedly, by media reports out of Australia on their record number of off-season flu cases (see Australia: An Early Surge In Flu Cases), and predictions of a record-breaking flu season, residents of both Australia and  New Zealand have been getting the flu shot in record numbers.

So much so, that one week into their official flu season, New Zealand has effectively run out of the vaccine, and Australia is scrambling to source another 400,000 doses (see 'Unprecedented' number of flu cases cause vaccine shortage).

Uptake of flu vaccines can vary greatly from year-to-year, depending upon the public's perceived threat level. Trying to calculate how many doses to pre-order each year - without having to throw away millions of dollars of unused vaccine - is always a challenge.

Yesterday, New Zealand's Ministry of Health notified doctors and pharmacies (via email - LINK) that their rapidly diminishing supply of flu vaccines will need to be restricted to those who are eligible for publicly funded vaccines:

• Pregnant women.
• Those aged 65 and over.
• Children aged 4 and under with serious respiratory illnesses.
• People with severe asthma, heart disease, diabetes and other serious health conditions that make them more susceptible to influenza.

Today PHARMAC - a New Zealand Government Agency that oversees which  medicines and medical devices are funded in New Zealand - released the following press release, which isn't particularly hopeful that additional vaccine can be procured.

Influenza vaccination levels hit near record levels

6 June 2019

PHARMAC has distributed over 1.26 million doses of the influenza vaccine this winter.

Director of Operations of Lisa Williams says this was the highest number of vaccines to have been distributed so early in winter.

“The vaccine takes up to two weeks to be effective so it’s great that health providers have been encouraging people to get in early before winter really hits. We really want to thank GPs and community health providers for doing such an amazing job of encouraging vaccination,” Lisa Williams says.

This high level of demand means that while many general practices, health providers, and pharmacies have vaccines available, the national stockpile is now running low.

“We would much rather have vaccines out in the community than sitting in a national stockpile.”

Because the national stockpile is now running low PHARMAC is co-ordinating with the Ministry of Health to ask health providers to target the vaccines they have in their stores to people most at risk.

“It’s great to have a big uptake in the community and now we need to focus on the groups most at risk, such as pregnant women.”

There is still adequate stock of the funded brand of the paediatric influenza vaccine, Fluarix Tetra. Providers are asked to continue to target this to children between 6 and 35 months of age.

The number of vaccines that has been distributed is higher than the total number of influenza vaccines distributed in 2016 and 2017 and nearly as many as the total for all of last winter when 1.3 million doses were distributed.

PHARMAC has been working closely with suppliers for several weeks on whether it is possible to source more vaccine.

These vaccines need to have the correct influenza strains for New Zealand they need to be sourced from another Southern Hemisphere market, at this time it is unlikely that more influenza vaccine supplies can be obtained.

Demand for the influenza vaccine is an international issue; Australia has also experienced very high demand this year, and unfortunately there is no surplus stock available for us to source from Australia.

Last updated: 6 June 2019

Each year New Zealand brings in enough vaccine to inoculate a little over 25% of their population, and most year's, there isn't a shortage.  Getting the flu jab is rarely seen as a high priority by most healthy adults.

Except when a bad flu season looms.  

Unfortunately, governments have to base their vaccine orders on historical uptake, not on the worst case scenario.  One very good reason for getting the flu shot every year, as it increases the odds of having enough available when you really, really want one.