This Ontario family wants a needle-free flu vaccine but can’t find it anywhere

A southwestern Ontario household is asking for a needle-free flu vaccine to be publicly funded once more in order that it is an actual possibility for youngsters this flu season.

Ryan McClanahan has been making an attempt purchase a nasal spray, reminiscent of FluMist, however says it is unimaginable to seek out for his nine-year-old son who has a concern of needles. 

The Ontario Ministry of Well being says on its web site that the spray may be bought at pharmacies, however the Chatham-Kent man says he cannot discover it, regardless of calling a number of shops in his personal metropolis, London and Windsor. 

“I believe the federal government is actually lacking a possibility right here after we take into consideration the truth that they’re presently coping with a healthcare disaster,” he mentioned. “It is a bit of a puzzle. Why, if we have now extra instruments accessible in our toolkit, are we not utilizing them?” he mentioned. 

Ontario is bracing for cases of the flu to be high this yr, whereas on the identical time pediatric intensive care units are already seeing a surge in youngsters combating respiratory diseases.

The province mentioned FluMist and different nasal sprays won’t be publicly funded this season and that it hasn’t lined them for a number of years. A spokesperson with the Ministry of Well being was not capable of say when it was final lined however immediately folks to pharmacies.

“Technically pharmacists haven’t got the scope to manage the FluMist vaccine as a result of it is not a part of the publicly funded program,” mentioned Angeline Ng of the Ontario Pharmacists Affiliation. “As a substitute of having the ability to administer that on the pharmacy, you would need to get a prescription.” 

“It is sort of complicated as a result of just a few years in the past we might administer it,” she mentioned. 

Dose packaging can also be a difficulty for some pharmacies, Ng mentioned, as a result of wholesalers usually promote it in packs of 10. 

“If they do not have one other 9 sufferers to dispense these different doses to, these 9 doses would kind of go to waste,” she mentioned. 

In an electronic mail to CBC Information, Ontario’s Ministry of Well being mentioned, “the choice to publicly fund vaccines is set by elements, reminiscent of scientific proof (e.g., burden of illness and vaccine effectiveness), financial and societal elements, in addition to accessible value effectiveness data and influence on the well being system.”

Provincial governments in B.C. and Prince Edward Island publicly fund FluMist. 

“For us, getting the flu vaccine by means of the nasal mist is a no brainer,” McClanahan mentioned. “It is a fully completely different expertise than making an attempt to do it by means of a needle injection.”

Whereas he mentioned he could be prepared to pay-out-of-pocket if he might discover a pharmacist who carried it, McClanaghan mentioned getting a worth for one dose has additionally been unimaginable. He mentioned one pharmacist informed him 10 doses might value upward of $350 from the wholesaler. 

“We have been informed by the pharmacies that there is a value to carrying it that is greater, and it does not have an extended shelf life, and they do not get quite a lot of uptake” McClanaghan mentioned. 

Methods to assist with needle anxiousness

“It is all the time a bit nerve wracking to get a needle,” mentioned Dr. Alex Summers, Middlesex London Well being Unit’s medical officer of well being.

Summers provided ideas for fogeys hoping to ease their youngsters’s nerves round vaccines: 

• Go to the clinic with excited power that you simply’re doing one thing actually good for his or her well being.
• Discuss to your little one about what’s taking place. You need not shock them. 
• Throughout the vaccination, distract them with a toy or display to take their thoughts off of what is taking place. 
• Have a good time the win afterwards with a deal with. 

“It is essential that everyone will get vaccinated for influenza yearly. By getting vaccinated, you shield your self towards not solely getting contaminated, however probably the most extreme signs of influenza,” Summers mentioned. 

For the McClanahan household, the seek for FluMist will proceed, however they may guide a flu shot if it comes up dry.

“If we won’t discover the flu mist this yr, and that is what we have accomplished in previous years, we’ll work on our methods and prepare and practise and get our common vaccine,” McClanahan mentioned.