Chemists are facing a battle to keep up with flu shots.
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Pharmacist-in-charge of Armidale Life Pharmacy, Josh Lee, said they ran out of vaccinations about a fortnight after they arrived this year.
"This year has seen unprecedented demand," Mr Lee said.
"We based our orders on the amount of flu vaccinations last year's demand for it, and not only has it been earlier that people have been requesting it, but also in a much greater volume as well."
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He said their pharmacy on North Hill had ordered 350 flu shots this year, but could easily have done 600.
As well as a greater demand from individuals, there have been more employers getting their staff to have flu shots, while an increasing number of nursing homes have required people entering their premises to have had the shot.
"They also asked us to supply them so they could vaccinate all their staff," Mr Lee said.
"We even had a couple of anti vaxxers get their flu shots, because they work for an organisation that wouldn't allow them to come to work if they didn't have the flu shot."
Pharmacies everywhere have had the same problem and Mr Lee said when they tried to order in more they found the wholesalers were out of stock.
"We brokered a deal with one of the pharmacies in our group to try and get more flu vaccines, which we have now, but we don't know how long that will last."
In the meantime, he said they have had to send customers to other pharmacies or to try doctors' surgeries, as supplies dwindle.
"It's been pretty bad this year," Mr Lee commented, adding that since a large flu outbreak in 2017, they have regularly run out of shots.
"I've been asking suppliers why they've been running out of stock, and they keep saying they've been increasing production 20 per cent each year, but it has not been enough to keep enough with demand."
While the pharmacist recommends getting the vaccination during May and into June, this year they have updated guidelines to say get it as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Mr Lee said the public attention on COVID-19 may have also played a role.
"It's nice that people have been more conscious of their health, it's disappointing that a pandemic had to cause that," he said.
