- Why can't I get more than 4 weeks vaccine supply to start the campaign?
- When will my vaccines arrive for allocation #1?
- Why will I receive more influenza vaccine compared to COVID-19 vaccines?
Additional Influenza Vaccine Orders
Mandatory Reporting of Excess Vaccines and Inter-Pharmacy Transfers
Overview
Enrollment for the 2026/27 Fall COVID-19 and influenza program will start on July 21, 2026. More details about enrollment can be found here.
Fall Vaccine Allocations
There is a fine balance between supply and demand each year, particularly in the first 6 weeks, as not all the vaccines will be in B.C. when the program starts. Although there is more than ample supply ordered each season, the volume available to distribute is constrained particularly in the first 6 weeks of the campaign.
As vaccines are limited, they are distributed largely based on supply and demand with a pharmacy's capacity being the third factor. In most urban regions, pharmacy capacity is larger than demand on a weekly basis resulting in pharmacies typically receiving less supply than their capacity. Regions with higher demands than pharmacy capacity will receive greater volumes of supply, allowing for more weeks of capacity to offset the demand.
Pharmacies should expect to closely monitor their vaccine supply, appointment capacity, bookings, and walk-in capacity to prevent overbooking, which can lead to patient disappointment and frustration.
Vaccine allocations are required due to the extremely high demand for COVID-19 and influenza vaccines at the beginning of each fall campaign, while additional supply arrives gradually into the province throughout the fall.
To minimize wastage and ensure vaccines are allocated appropriately, all community pharmacies interested in participating in one or both fall influenza and COVID-19 immunization campaigns are required to enroll annually in order to receive an allocation of vaccine supply for the start of the campaigns. Please review details regarding the annual pharmacy enrollment requirements.
Long-term Care (LTC), Assisted Living (AL), and Health Care Worker (HCW) clinics are separate from this allocation and ordering process. Pharmacies providing immunizations in LTC/AL facilities should coordinate supply logistics with the facility as the facility is responsible for placing the vaccine order with their Health Authority. For HCW clinics, the pharmacies should coordinate supply with their Health Authority contacts. Please review the most recent documentation requirements for pharmacies providing immunization clinics at LTC/AL sites: Immunizations in Long-term Care/Assisted Living Facilities.
Allocation #1
How is allocation #1 calculated?
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Influenza vaccines with allocation #1 are expected to cover your first 4-weeks of the campaign:
- These vaccines will be shipped in multiple deliveries, with some shipments arriving after the campaign has already started. More details regarding shipments will be shared late September.
- Pharmacies located in specific regions where there is inadequate capacity in both pharmacies and HA clinics will receive up to 5-6 weeks of influenza vaccines as part of allocation #1.
- Allocation #1 of influenza and/or COVID-19 vaccines are based on your pharmacy's historical vaccination rate from the previous year. It considers the greater of either your first 4-weeks performance or your overall annual performance, to determine your pharmacy's percentage share.
- We have collaborated with each Health Authority to identify specific regions in B.C. with limited HA clinic capacity, as well as limited pharmacies within a responsible driving distance. Pharmacies within these regions will receive a greater amount of influenza supply as part of allocation #1 to allow for future-dated appointments.
- There will be a limited amount of COVID-19 vaccine supply, as demand is lower than that of influenza vaccine. COVID-19 vaccine allocations will not be shared until mid-to-late September, once supply availability is confirmed. Expect to receive roughly 30% to 50% fewer COVID-19 vaccines compared to your influenza allocation.
- Returning pharmacies that did not participate last year will be reviewed based on the previous year's data. If a pharmacy has not participated for two consecutive years, their allocation #1 will be that of a new pharmacy.
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New pharmacies without historical data will be provided 50 to 100 doses in allocation #1, depending on the needs in your community.
- New pharmacies in specific regions that have limited coverage may be provided with more supply based on coverage requirements.
- New pharmacies that fully utilize their allocation #1 promptly will be provided an increased supply in allocation #2.
- Do not create more appointments than you have inventory on-hand.
- Overbooking and harassment of local Health Units may result in the removal of allocation #2.
- Allocation #1 will include vaccine quantities for any off-site clinics you conducted in the first few weeks of last season, should you wish to do them again this year.
- Details regarding allocation #1 will be provided to all eligible pharmacies enrolled by the deadline.
- Information around allocation #1 will be shared with pharmacies by mid-September.
Why can't I get more than 4 weeks vaccine supply to start the campaign?
- Each year, most pharmacies prefer to have more vaccine supply at the start of the campaign to allow for ease of planning. However, not all of the supply is available at the start of the campaign and therefore is limited to when the vaccines arrive into the province.
- Allocation #1 is limited and based on the volume of influenza vaccines we expect to arrive in the province at the beginning of the campaign. There will only be about 2 weeks of influenza vaccine supply arriving into the province by late September, which we estimate distributors will ship to pharmacies by the campaign start. Then, an additional 2-week supply is to arrive in the province early October and estimated to be shipped to pharmacies before the end of the first week.
- The exact arrival time of the newly formulated COVID-19 vaccine has not yet been confirmed, though we anticipate the arrival will be similar to last year. Last year, only 1 week of supply was available for pharmacies before the start of the campaign, and 2 more weeks of supply did not arrive until after the campaign had already started.
- Quantities in allocation #1 may only be reviewed for adjustment for pharmacies offering new off-site clinics. These reviews will require submission of supporting details through an online form.
- Although allocation #1 is primarily based on historical performance, allocation #2 is based on actual performance. Pharmacies that overperform in the first 4-6 days of the campaign will have their allocation #2 increased, while pharmacies that underperform will have their allocation #2 decreased.
When will my vaccines arrive?
- Pharmacies will receive their allocation #1 in multiple shipments due to the different arrival dates of various vaccine products into the province throughout the fall campaign.
- Shipments of allocation #1 will take place between late September and mid-October.
- Some pharmacies will receive part of their allocation after the campaign has started.
- Delivery dates may change if there are any delays in arrival of the vaccines into the province from the manufacturer, or distribution delays.
- Do not post appointments until you have received your vaccines and the coordinated start date is confirmed.
Why will I receive more influenza vaccine compared to COVID-19 vaccines?
- For pharmacies enrolled to provide both influenza and COVID-19 vaccinations, we will aim to allocate the supply on a 10:7 (10:4 for new pharmacies) basis for allocation #1. This is due to limited vaccines and declining demand for COVID-19 vaccinations. However, we cannot confirm the volume of COVID-19 vaccines included in allocation #1 due to uncertainties about the supply available in B.C. at the beginning of the campaign. These uncertainties arise from several factors such as new formulations that require Health Canada approval, manufacturer confirmation of shipment arrival times, and additional cold-chain considerations.
Allocation #2
- Allocation #2 for influenza is shared with pharmacies a week after the start of the campaign.
- Allocation #2 is based on each pharmacy’s vaccination rates in the first 4-6 days of the current campaign, as well as appointments booked over weeks 2 and 3 of the campaign.
- Pharmacies that overperform in the first 4-6 days of the campaign will have their allocation #2 increased, while pharmacies that underperform will have their allocation #2 decreased.
- Pharmacies that promptly use their initial supply will be reviewed for special consideration.
- DO NOT OVERBOOK APPOINTMENTS. Any pharmacy found to be creating more appointments than on-hand supply, resulting in mass cancellations, may have their allocation #2 cancelled completely.
- Allocation #2 is expected to provide enough supply to carry your pharmacy into week 5 and 6 of the campaign.
- Shipment dates of allocation #2 will vary, depending on your location and distributor.
- DO NOT CONTACT HEALTH UNITS FOR SUPPLY. We have had reports of pharmacies directly contacting and in some cases, acting unprofessionally towards Public Health staff, for vaccine supply. This has resulted in Health Authorities denying requests to provide supply to pharmacies.
- Do not post appointments until vaccines have been received on-site.
Additional Vaccine Orders
- Direct ordering of COVID-19 vaccines is expected to begin by the third week of November, using the weekly ordering form.
- Direct ordering for influenza vaccines from all distributors is expected to begin by the third week of November.
- Allocation #1 and #2 should provide enough supply for the first 4-6 weeks of the campaign.
- Pharmacies will have daily/weekly order caps based on the first 4 weeks of performance.
- Please watch for more information about open ordering from your distributor by early to mid-November.
- Please do not make requests for vaccine supply from Public Health Units. The only exception may be for pharmacies providing immunization clinics for Long-term Care or Assisted Living facilities — though typically it is the facilities themselves that will place the order for influenza/COVID-19 vaccines.
- Do not post appointments until you have received your vaccines.
Mandatory Reporting of Excess Vaccines and Inter-Pharmacy Transfers
Updated Aug. 28, 2025
- Pharmacies would have received vaccine supply for allocation #1 based on their vaccination rates in the previous year. They are responsible for informing BCPhA during the allocation confirmation process if they are likely to provide fewer vaccinations compared to the previous season. This ensures that supply is allocated appropriately.
- Some pharmacies may experience unexpected staffing challenges or reduced demand for various reasons — this may mean lower vaccine utilization, resulting in an excess vaccine supply.
- It is each pharmacy's responsibility to ensure they minimize vaccine wastage. Excess wastage will impact a pharmacy's allocation the following season.
If you anticipate excess influenza or COVID-19 vaccines please:
- Coordinate an inter-pharmacy transfer within your community. If you are part of a chain or banner, within your group or community.
- Or, fill in the influenza excess online form/COVID-19 excess online form. We will then facilitate an inter-pharmacy transfer for those who are out of supply to prevent wastage.
- We will share your pharmacy's contact information with a pharmacy who is short on supply to coordinate pick up.
If you are seeking excess influenza or COVID-19 vaccines, please:
- Fill in the influenza excess online form or the COVID-19 excess online form and we will facilitate an inter-pharmacy transfer from those who might have excess supply. This also prevents wastage.
- If there is any available excess, we will provide you with the contact information of a pharmacy with excess supply to coordinate pick up.
- As seen in previous seasons, it is rare for a pharmacy to have excess supply in the first few weeks of the campaign.
The pharmacy with excess supply is required to document the transfer of supplies in ImmsBC upon sharing it with another pharmacy: Inter-clinic Pharmacy Transfers.
Please also reference Communicable Disease Control Manual, Chapter 2: Immunization, Appendix E - Management of Biologicals, 4.5: Transportation and Management of Vaccines for Clinics.
Off-site Clinic Allocations
Updated Sep 8, 2026
Pharmacies who provided an off-site clinic during the first few weeks of last year's campaign would already have the additional supply included in their allocation #1. Additional supply will not be provided unless the off-site clinic is new for the 2026-27 vaccination season.
For supply included in allocation #1, pharmacies are asked to start planning their off-site clinics as early as the summer, but must inform the facility that the clinic will be confirmed after supply allocations are available. All requests for off-site clinics should be planned for late October onwards to ensure adequate supply can be provided, and to ensure they are not scheduled before the official coordinated start date.
Email requests will not be reviewed. Please submit your request for review using the online form. Please note that we cannot guarantee there will be adequate vaccine supply available, as it is very limited early in the season and dependent on the quantity received from the manufacturer.
Along with your request, you must upload the following proof for consideration:
- Email confirmation from the off-site clinic
- Name of off-site clinic, facility, or employer office
- Site contact name, email, and phone number
- Confirmation that this is a new off-site clinic, not a service the pharmacy provided last year
- Confirmed date(s) of clinic(s) - the date must fall within the first 3-4 weeks of the campaign to be reviewed for allocation #1
- Expected number of patients that are over 65 and under 65 years of age
Please keep in mind that there will be limited supply available, so do not confirm the clinic until you secure supply.