VIDEO: People slow to roll up their sleeves this flu season

It's flu season and those wishing to get vaccinated are encouraged to make their appointments, but the first few weeks have been a bit slow.

"They weren't fully booked up," said Brett Federko, owner and pharmacist at Kelowna's Downtown Pharmasave.

"But now we're seeing a lot more interest."

Federko chalks it up to delays in people getting notifications, but the result is the vaccines are in good supply.

"Last year it was kind of the opposite, not enough vaccines to accommodate the notifications," he said.

From the downtown Pharmasave, Federko could literally watch COVID-19 protests going by over the last few years, but he isn't hearing a lot about that in the pharmacy.

"Pretty much most people that are coming in for the vaccine fully support it," he said.

But he does hear some indecision.

"Should I get it or should I not?", is how he sums up the sentiment.

"But I haven't really heard any negative attitude toward the vaccine this year at all."

That's not to say that there aren't negative attitudes toward the vaccine out there, it's just that they simply stay away.

"The people that want it are coming in," Federko figures, "and the people that don't, are just not coming in."

If you are thinking of getting a vaccine for either COVID-19 or the seasonal flu, he says now is the time.

"Those viruses seasonally will circulate around and it's our turn globally," said Federko, "to start having those viruses come our way."

By the time you start hearing about cases among your friends family and co-workers, he said you want to have your vaccination behind you.

"It's nice to get ahead of it, to get vaccinated," he said.

"It takes a couple of weeks for the antibodies to build up from the vaccine."

This season’s immunization campaign got started after the Thanksgiving long weekend, with seniors and the immunocompromised getting the first shot at it, so to speak.