Demand for flu shots across the country is up about 10 per cent, and health officials suspect it may be driven by fears of avian flu.
"I think it really helps you with any kind of a flu," one patient told CTV News. "You might get it, but you won't get it as bad."
But experts say that a conventional flu shot won't help a person with avian flu at all, as it will likely be a strain never seen before.
"Right now, I think people should be more concerned about what we know is going to happen this winter, and that's the arrival of human influenza and all the complications it can bring, especially to the elderly and the chronically ill," said Dr. John Carsley of the Montreal Public Health Authority.
In Alberta, people at high risk of contracting the flu are getting their shots, but everyone else is being told to wait.
Some health officials are saying that delay carries some risks if flu season hits sooner rather than later.
"There could be some people out there who don't have full immunity because they haven't got their vaccine early enough, " said Dr. Judy MacDonald of the Calgary Regional Health Authority.
Delays in production and a rise in demand are the two factors driving the shortage.
Health officials say they've been assured that by Nov. 1, they'll have all the flu vaccine they need.
In Nova Scotia, Dr. Robert Strang, the province's medical officer of health, said he's confident his province has enough flu vaccine for 350,000 people.
That province offers free vaccinations to those over age 65, babies aged six to 23 months, health care workers and police officer and firefighters.
The flu season normally runs from November through to April.
According to the Public Health Agency of Canada's FluWatch website, during the week of Oct. 2-8, "localized influenza activity was reported in Saskatchewan, and sporadic activity was reported in British Columbia, while the rest of the country reported no activity."
With a report from CTV's Jed Kahane
