Family doctors have not received the 17,000 flu vaccines they had ordered from the government to administer to their vulnerable and housebound patients, their association has said.
Vulnerable patients are being told to go to health centres for the jab instead, said Anthony Azzopardi, the president of the Association of Private Family Doctors.
As for the housebound, Azzopardi has been informed that nurses will be visiting their homes.
He said he had made 160 calls to inform patients on his list while other doctors were contacting up to 600.
However, a patient had called to tell him she could not be given a date and time and that this group would be the last to get the flu vaccine.
Last week, the association lamented this “uncharacteristic” treatment of patients with chronic diseases who had booked their yearly influenza vaccination with their private family doctors, and demanded to know when they would be able to vaccinate their many vulnerable patients.
At the end of every summer, the Department of Health invites private family doctors to offer the free influenza vaccine to patients with chronic diseases and those confined to their homes.
Although this list was delivered to the department in September, the ordered vaccines were not provided – patients with chronic diseases had been bypassed, the doctors said.
Meanwhile, they have been “besieged” by patients phoning to ask about the vaccine.
Azzopardi fears that those who decide to go to health centres to make sure they got it would overload the system in the process, although he admitted it was “working well”.
The first batch of 100,000 vaccines was made available early in October and was taken up within a record two weeks.
The second batch started being distributed last Sunday only to high-risk groups, including children between three and five, health care workers, including those caring for residents in nursing homes and institutions, and adults of 55 and over. Next week, it will be available for all.
To ensure that enough flu vaccines are available to whoever wanted to get vaccinated, the government has also ordered an additional 50,000 jabs, which will arrive later on during the influenza season.
The health authorities’ concerted push for people to take the flu vaccine this winter is aimed at minimising strain on local healthcare resources due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The spread of distribution of vaccines allowed for more effective herd immunity, they said.
Insufficient stock due to global demand means the flu vaccine cannot be purchased privately, although it will be available at Saint James Capua Hospital, which had secured an amount for its clients.
Luckily, there was no flu around yet, said paediatric consultant Victor Grech, a prime promoter of vaccinations.
Asked about the timing in view of the fact that the public had been led to think they should be vaccinated in October, he said it is not a normal year for the flu, adding it was not expected to arrive early, but rather, late,
Concerns about overlapping the anticipated COVID-19 and flu vaccines were unfounded and, even so, there was no reason for simultaneous administration to be detrimental, Grech said.