Thanks to those who have submitted orders for flu vaccines.
If you need to access the order form, it is available here. Public Health Units are processing your orders and will contact you with a pick up date and time. The first batch of your order will be available to pick up at your local Public Health Unit the week of October 13, 2020.
A reminder that this year, the order form has three separate sections:
- Orders for general pharmacy/clinic/office use
- Orders for those living in Assisted Living facilities: The vaccine for these clients is Fluzone High Dose. If you are unsure if a facility is Assisted Living, you can refer to the BC government’s directory. If a facility houses a mix of Assisted Living and Independent Living clients, then the Independent Living clients should be provided another vaccine (Fluad if they are 65 years +, Agriflu or Fluviral if they are under 65 years). There is only enough provincial supply of publicly funded Fluzone High Dose for residents of Long Term Care and Assisted Living.
- Orders for mass clinics where more than 50 people will be vaccinated in one day: Provide details on the location and date of the clinic so that we can ensure we provide you with a vaccine. We need advance notice for these events in order to distribute vaccines to them accordingly.
Picking up your vaccine
- As vaccines are received in batches over the season, it is unlikely that you will receive your full season’s request of vaccines on your first pick up. You will be able to submit subsequent orders as needed.
- Your Public Health Unit will contact you with information on how many vaccines you will be receiving and when to pick them up. Due to COVID-19 precautions, pick up procedures may have changed from previous years. Your health unit will provide more information on this.
- You must bring an appropriate cooler, ice pack and packing material (paper/bubble wrap) for vaccine transport.
Vaccine storage
- All vaccines should be stored between +2 to +8 degrees Celsius.
- Fluviral® and Flulaval Tetra are supplied in multi-dose vials and have a shelf-life of 28 days once the vial is opened. Vials should be dated when opened and discarded 28 days after opening.
COVID-19 safety for flu clinics
Keep your clients and yourself safe this year while getting vaccinated through COVID-19 safety precautions. Here are some quick tips:
- Screening: Screen staff and clients for COVID-19 symptoms and have sick clients/staff rebook.
- Physical distancing: Adapt your clinic hours, flow, or layout to allow 2 metre distance between people.
- Personal Protective Equipment: Encourage those receiving vaccines to wear masks. Vaccinators should wear medical masks and eye protection as should other staff who are not able to maintain a two metre physical distance. If administering Flumist, vaccinators should also wear gloves. Gloves should be changed between clients and hand hygiene performed after gloves are removed.
- Post-vaccine 15 minute observation period: Those receiving flu vaccines should be observed for 15 minutes following their vaccination for adverse reactions. A shorter observation period may be considered if there is not enough space to accommodate the volume of people seeking immunization and only when specific conditions are met (e.g. the client has had a previous flu vaccine, has no history of post-vaccination reactions, will not be operating a vehicle). See the Recommendations on the Duration of the Postvaccination Observation Period for Influenza Vaccination during the COVID-19 Pandemic from the National Advisory Committee on Immunization for more information.
- Consider other venues or mass clinics: Outdoors, parking lots, or drive through clinics may be other settings that can improve ventilation and physical distancing while allowing increased capacity.
- For more detailed guidance, see the BCCDC’s Guidance for Influenza Delivery in the Presence of COVID-19 and the New South Wales guidance for Drive-in Immunisation Clinics.
List your clinic with Immunize BC
List your clinic/location on Immunize BC’s Find an Influenza (Flu) Clinic webpage. To have your clinic listed, register at www.immunizebc.ca/user/register. Once you are approved, you can post and update any flu clinics you are offering.
Vaccine products and eligibility – Quick reference
For a quick look at the vaccines available this year and who is eligible to get them, click here.
Questions?
If you have further questions, send them to influenza@fraserhealth.ca. Be sure to include your name, contact information, and the city you’re located in. We will do our best to answer your questions.