Just a temporary or spot shortage some places; yes, somewhat worse than usual due to pandemic-related labor and distribution issues, but overall, no big deal. Check with the big houses like B&H in NYC or Freestyle in LA. Even in the worst of circumstances, there's still a big selection of film available. And once you find a favorite, buy enough to last you through the next potential shortfall. It shouldn't be long until Kodak film inventories revitalize.
Exactly what kind of film do you actually need? Color negative in 35mm? You mentioned prints, so that's what I assumed, meaning C41 process film. Don't go get something weird, difficult or impossible to conveniently process. This might just be a canister shortage issue, or delay in a specific coating base. At the moment there's a downright glut of 120 roll film, with even sale pricing going on. When batches are made, cut, and packaged, it's done in high volume, and then when inventories run low, it's done again, feast or famine it seems, like a wet season and a dry season on the African savanna. Timing your purchases is everything.
Kodak paper is unrelated, because it's manufacture was switched to China at the worst possible time, right around when the covid epidemic broke out. Kodak film is still made in the US, and they've even upgraded their manufacture capacity recently due to increasing demand. But different types of film often need to be coated on entirely different bases, so big separate batches are requisite. There is a link somewhere to a flick touring the inside of the current film Kodak coating operation,
which gives a glimpse into how every single product is indeed a "big deal" to manufacture, and why it must be done on such a large scale. Like I just said, feast or famine. Buy extra film and store in a freezer well wrapped. I've found that necessary as long as I've been doing photography, now almost 60 yrs.
