Vancouver pharmacy drops $29 walk-in flu shot charge after social media confusion

A social media user in Vancouver was confused after one pharmacy advertised $29 walk-in flu shots, something that is usually free in B.C.

In a tweet, the person posted a picture of a Shoppers Drug Mart pharmacy with a sign advertising payment to get the shot via a walk-in, instead of through booking an appointment.

#BCpoli What is this about? Flu shot is free to everyone if booked through the centralized system, but $29 if you don’t? What in happening in this Vancouver-area pharmacy? #HealthPolicy pic.twitter.com/MDRTTYWlom

— Devon Greyson (@DevonGreyson) December 15, 2022

Although flu shots are free if sourced from the B.C. government, pharmacies are allowed to find and sell their own vaccines.

The owner of the Shoppers Drug Mart the twitter user posted about declined to comment and referred CityNews to the Loblaw Public Relations department.

In a statement from the group, it says the cost was due to the pharmacy’s shots being privately funded.

“We’ve been in touch with the pharmacy who has since removed the signage and stopped offering privately funded flu shots. We apologize for any confusion or inconvenience this may have caused,” the statement said.

High demand for flu shots

Meantime, at another pharmacy a pharmacist says there has been significant demand for the vaccine.

“We’ve had more demand for flu shots than I’ve ever seen in my career,” Julia Coolman, a pharmacist at 360Care Denman Pharmacy, said.

She says the pharmacy almost ran out of shots last month, but they were able to source some last minute vaccines to make it through.

“On the one hand, I’m so glad people are getting vaccinated this year. On the other hand, it is not a great situation for people who were ill, or for some reason were not able to get vaccinated earlier in the season,” Coolman said.

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She adds that she may have charged for shots if she didn’t have enough supply, and says that pharmacy shouldn’t be criticized for it.

However, Coolman says there is a supply issue with getting shots to pharmacies.

“There is definitely an access issue. I can’t comment on how the planning went in the government, they did order more flu vaccine than usual, and I don’t think they could have anticipated how much more the demand would have been,” she explained.

CityNews has reached out to the B.C. Minister of Health for comment.