Influenza and COVID-19 vaccines are allocated to pharmacies that have enrolled to participate in the fall influenza and COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. Independent and banner pharmacies need to enrol each year. If you have not already enrolled, please register your pharmacy.
Pharmacies must not start providing vaccinations until the coordinated October 10 start date.
Additional Influenza Vaccine Orders
Mandatory Reporting of Excess Vaccines and inter-pharmacy transfers
COVID-19 mRNA vaccine allocations and orders
Adjusting or cancelling a previous COVID-19 mRNA vaccine order
Vaccine ancillary supplies (VAS) e.g., LDV needles/syringes
Influenza vaccine allocations and orders
B.C. will have universal eligibility for influenza and COVID-19 vaccines for the 2023/24 respiratory illness season.
Pharmacies who enrolled by the August 11, 2023 deadline would have been sent an email and fax detailing the allocation #1 amounts (Gamma pharmacies will receive the information from your head office) and esimated allocation #2.
Allocation #1
- Provided to all eligible pharmacies that enrolled by August 11, 2023, and based on previous year's historical vaccination rates or more up-to-date COVID-19 spring campaign vaccination rates.
- Pharmacies will receive their allocation #1 in multiple shipments (quantities in allocation #1 are final and were communicated with each pharmacy that enrolled prior to the August 11, 2023 deadline).
- Allocation #1 of influenza vaccines is projected to allow for 2-3 weeks of appointments.
- Allocation #1 of Moderna XBB.1.5 vaccine is projected to allow for 1 to 1.5 weeks of appointments.
- Pfizer XBB.1.5 as of Sep 27, 2023, is pending Health Canada approval, which is impacting the volume of COVID-19 vaccinations available at this time.
- Shipments of allocation #1 will come in multiple shipments, but are expected to be delivered by your distributor by October 6.
- Do not post appointments until you have received your vaccines.
Allocation #2
- Allocation #2 of both influenza and COVID-19 vaccines will be based on each pharmacy’s vaccination rates in the first week of the current campaign as compared to forecast.
- A pharmacy’s vaccine supplies remaining and future appointments booked will also be considered.
- Allocation #2 is meant to cover another 2-3 weeks of appointments.
- Shipments of allocation #2 will vary depending on where you are located and distributor and delivery is estimated to arrive your pharmacy between Oct 17 to Nov 3.
- Do not post appointments until you have received your vaccines.
Please note: FluMist will not arrive in the province until October; it is expected in pharmacies by mid to late October. There is an extremely limited supply of FluMist so it has been allocated to a small number of pharmacies who will be contacted end of September on allocations.
Additional Influenza Vaccine Orders
Updated Nov. 7, 2023
- Direct ordering of influenza has started for all distributors.
- Pharmacies have daily/weekly order caps as there are limited influenza vaccines remaining.
- Demand for influenza vaccinations saw its first decline in week 3 and will continue to decline in week 4-5 before a steep drop by week 6-7.
- Please do not make requests for vaccine from public health units. The only exception may be for pharmacies administering clinics for Long-Term Care or Assisted Living facilities, although typically it is the facilities themselves that will place the order for influenza/COVID-19 vaccines.
- DO NOT POST APPOINTMENTS UNTIL YOU RECEIVE YOUR VACCINES.
Mandatory Reporting of Excess Vaccines and Inter-pharmacy transfers
Updated November 14, 2023
- Some pharmacies may have experienced unexpected staffing challenges or less demand for various reasons. This may have meant 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 flu vaccines please:
- Coordinate an inter-pharmacy transfer within your community or if you are part of a chain or banner, within your group or community.
- Or, fill in the influenza excess online form or the COVID-19 excess online form so we can 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 flu vaccine as your distributor is low or out of supply please:
- Fill in the influenza excess online form so we can facilitate an inter-pharmacy transfer for those who have excess supply to prevent wastage.
- If there is any available excess, we share the contact information of a pharmacy with excess supply with you to coordinate pick up.
The pharmacy with excess supply need to document the inventory transfer on ImmsBC once you share the supply 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
Offsite Clinic Allocations
Updated Oct 16, 2023
Pharmacies should not be setting up offsite clinics that were not submitted for supply approval between July and September 2023.
Pharmacies now adding offsite clinics that were not previously approved should wait until mid to late November if you do not already have vaccine supply available. Pharmacies will need to place orders through their distributor when direct ordering beginning in early November (date TBC), but keep in mind there will be limited supply available.
COVID-19 mRNA vaccine allocations and orders
Weekly ordering for COVID-19 vaccines has resumed.
Imperial, K&F, McKesson, Unipharm Pharmacies
- The deadline to place an order for COVID vaccines is Thursday, 11:59pm PST weekly, except for long weekends, where the cut-off would be Wednesday, 11:59pm PST.
- Vaccines are delivered by your pharmacy distributor 8-14 days after the order deadline.
- TO PREVENT OVERBOOKING DO NOT POST APPOINTMENTS UNTIL YOU RECEIVE SUPPLY .
- Vaccine supply is limited so orders will be reviewed and adjusted if necessary.
- Submit your order here.
Gamma Pharmacies
Your distributor breaks down orders by the vial, so please use the online form below.
- The deadline to place an order for COVID vaccines is Thursday, 11:59pm PST weekly, except long weekends where deadline for ordering is Wednesday, 11:59pm PST.
- Your pharmacy distributor will confirm your shipment timelines.
- Limited vaccine availability continues to be of concern as demand remains high.
- Submit your order here.
Matrix Pharmacies
Please do not use the order form above.
Please contact your Rx specialist for vaccine order deadlines as they are submitted to the BCPhA and the provincial vaccine team for weekly approvals centrally from your head office.
NOTE: ImmsBC entries do not generate orders for COVID-19 or influenza vaccines (i.e. do not use the “Create Requisition” function). Instead, this function is used to track inventory shipped to pharmacies. Click here to learn more.
Adjusting or cancelling a previous COVID-19 mRNA vaccine order:
**Not currently available.
- If a submission needs to be adjusted or cancelled, resubmit a new order form and choose the option indicating you are replacing the previous submission. Only the newest order submitted will be approved; orders will not be combined.
- Note: Orders can not be placed through ImmsBC nor Public Health.
- If you have an urgent request for vaccine please contact Immunization Support, not your distributor.
Non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines
Novavax (Nuvaxovid)
Due to the limited supply of Novavax in the Province only a limited number of pharmacies have been identified to provide this vaccination based on historic and geographic demand.
Pharmacies offering Novavax will receive automatic weekly top-ups of the vaccine.
It is anticipated Novavax’s 2023/24 COVID-19 vaccine will be available sometime in fall/winter 2023. Clients seeking a Novavax booster may wish to wait until the new Novavax vaccine formulation becomes available.
Vaccine ancillary supplies (VAS) e.g., LDV needles/syringes:
As of October 27, 2023, community pharmacies are responsible for purchasing their COVID-19 vaccination supplies – e.g., syringes, needles, alcohol swabs, band aids, sharps containers – as they do for flu vaccinations. The Provincial Health Services Authority (PHSA) will no longer provide COVID-19 vaccinations supplies to distributors at no cost.
Pharmacy distributors were advised to order enough supplies from PHSA for the fall vaccination campaign. Pharmacies can receive/order the free supplies from their distributors until that stock is depleted. Once distributors are out of PHSA stock, pharmacists will need to purchase their own vaccination supplies for COVID-19 vaccinations. Contact your distributor for specific ordering processes.
The change harmonizes the supply chain model for COVID-19 vaccinations with the established model for flu vaccines, in which community pharmacies have traditionally overseen the distribution of flu vaccine supplies.