Paediatricians in Ontario and Nova Scotia are dealing with a shortage in flu vaccines.
CBC News reported parents in the two provinces have had trouble finding the vaccine for their children recently.
Ontario’s health ministry told CBC “there is sufficient supply of flu vaccine available in communities across the province,” but doctors point to the fact that many of those doses are at pharmacies, which cannot administer vaccines on children under the age of five.
Doctors say that there are rules that complicate moving the vaccine from pharmacists to paediatricians’ offices.
In Nova Scotia, the province’s chief medical officer sent a notice out to doctors telling them to ration the vaccine as there weren’t any more supplies to distribute.
The vaccine this year has been particularly effective, as doctors say it has been successful at protecting against more than 70 per cent of circulating influenza strains.