Turkey faces influenza vaccine supply shortages

Nurten Saydan, President of the All Pharmacist Employers Union (TEİS), has reported significant shortages and delays in the supply of influenza vaccines in Turkey. Saydan noted that the current supply of 2.9 million doses is insufficient to cover the country's high-risk populations, which include approximately 9.5 million citizens over the age of 65 and 20 million individuals with chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, COPD, and cardiovascular diseases.

According to Saydan, the shortage forces citizens to search multiple pharmacies for available doses, with some even attempting to form queues to secure the limited supply. She emphasized that the responsibility for these supply chain and planning failures lies with the health authorities managing procurement and distribution, rather than with pharmacists. She called for more transparent distribution and adequate supply to ensure that preventative healthcare is accessible to those most at risk.