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Availability of Vaccine Against Flu is Spotty

Posted on: Tuesday, 8 November 2005, 12:00 CST

By Elizabeth Simpson, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

Nov. 8--A major local distributor of the flu vaccine has run dry.

Maxim Health Systems, a health company that conducts flu clinics for retailers including Farm Fresh and Eckerd stores, has announced it will cancel its remaining flu vaccine clinics in retail stores starting this week.

A company official said Maxim has not been able to buy enough vaccine to meet the demand.

"There was a 30 to 40 percent increase in demand over 2003," said Steve Wright, director of wellness programs.

Farm Fresh, one of Maxim's clients, has held 49 clinics in the Hampton Roads area -- the last one was Saturday -- but is canceling the 14 remaining clinics, all scheduled in November.

Nationwide, Maxim canceled about 10 percent of the total planned clinics, Wright said.

Not all local retailers use Maxim, however. Anyone seeking a flu shot from a retailer should call the store to determine whether clinics will still be conducted.

On Monday, calls to local medical practices and public health departments showed that flu vaccine supplies varied: Some had the vaccine, others didn't.

Currently, supplies at three local health departments -- Virginia Beach, Portsmouth and Suffolk -- are either depleted or are already spoken for. However, those health departments are expecting a second shipment from the state pharmacy by the end of November.

Chesapeake and Norfolk health departments still have the vaccine, and both are expecting a second shipment.

"I think we're going to have enough to meet demand," said Marian Vollmer, nurse manager for the Chesapeake Health Department.

Public health officials recommend that people call before coming to a health department for a shot.

While some doctors' offices -- those affiliated with Sentara Healthcare and Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, for instance -- have been able to get an adequate supply so far, that has not been true of all medical practices.

Krisanne Hudson, a nurse for a Virginia Beach internal medicine practice, said her office never received its shipment of the vaccine. The practice referred patients to other sources.

"It's frustrating because you want to be able to help your patients and give them what they need at the doctor's office," Hudson said.

A spokeswoman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said delivery of the flu vaccine has been a problem in some parts of the country.

Lola Russell said one of the vaccine manufacturers, Chiron, has had delays in producing its vaccine, and that's had an impact on delivery.

If practices don't use the vaccine this season, it must be thrown out. That makes it difficult for practices and health departments to decide how much to order. There are many factors that can affect demand, such as severity of the flu season, whether there's a shortage, and media reports about the flu.

Still, health officials say this season has been an improvement over last year, when the shutdown of British vaccine manufacturer Chiron in early October led to a shortage early in the season. That led to restrictions placed by the CDC and redirection of the vaccine. Then, when vaccines finally did start dribbling in, many people lost interest, and some vaccines went unused.

Overall, this year's supply has been better, and some medical practices' vaccine distributions have gone off without a hitch. George Heuser, senior medical director for Sentara's Optima Health Care, said the Sentara health system ordered about 80,000 doses this year and hasn't had a problem receiving shipments.

George Stinnett, public spokesman for Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters, said pediatric offices affiliated with that hospital also have an adequate supply.

But Patient First, which has six primary and urgent care centers throughout Hampton Roads, ran out of the vaccine Monday, according to spokesman Kevin Dumville.

Every year seems to bring a different level of interest, he said.

"It's very hard to predict," he said, "which makes it hard to line up supply with demand."

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Copyright (c) 2005, The Virginian-Pilot, Norfolk, Va.

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Source: The Virginian-Pilot

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