By Felice J Freyer
Thousands of doses of flu vaccine are going out to health-care providers around the state, and public flu clinics are already under way, as Rhode Island’s unique, centralized flu-shot distribution program moves into its second year.
That means that it’s time for everyone to get a flu shot. The vaccine is recommended for anyone who wants to avoid getting influenza, and is especially important for those at high risk of complications. For the first time, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that all children older than 6 months receive the shot.
In Rhode Island, children should get their flu shots from their pediatricians. Adults can get the vaccine from their own doctor, a walk-in clinic or one of the public flu clinics being held in drugstores and elsewhere. For the first time this year, pharmacists are allowed to administer the flu shot.
For a list of public clinics, which are open to people 19 and older and typically charge about $25 per shot, go to www.health.ri.gov or call (800) 555-7858.
The flu season extends from December to March, and peaks in February. The vaccine needs two weeks to take effect and will last for a year.
Last year, Rhode Island started a new system in which Medicaid, Medicare, and private health insurers each contributed money based on how many of their enrollees were likely to get shots. The state Health Department used that money to buy vaccine and distribute it fairly.
The purpose was to avoid the confusion and inequities that occurred in previous years when flu shots were in short supply. Sometimes doctors couldn’t get doses for their high-risk patients while employers were inoculating healthy workers. Elderly people waited anxiously in line at public flu clinics, only to be turned away when supplies ran out. Doctors also complained that they never knew when the vaccines would arrive, making it hard to arrange to vaccinate their patients.
That has changed, because supplies are plentiful and because of the state’s new distribution system.
“It actually worked pretty well,” said Dr. Michael D. Fine, a Pawtucket family practitioner who had pushed for the new system. As a result, a number of doctors who had given up administering the vaccine are resuming the practice, Fine said.
“We got lots of positive feedback from the providers,” said Health Department spokeswoman Annemarie Beardsworth. “They didn’t have to deal with the stress and the hassle of ordering vaccine, checking when it would arrive, how it would arrive, how much was going to arrive.”
As a result, participation in the state program increased 5 percent this year, she said.
Last year, the state bought 248,000 doses of adult vaccine. About 10 percent was not used.
Under their agreement with the Health Department, providers who discard more than 10 percent of the vaccine they ordered must reimburse the state for the unused vaccine. Last year 76 providers reimbursed the state a total of $47,000.
That rule is prompting providers to better track vaccine usage. The state, also, has better information to guide its purchasing, Beardsworth said.
For the current season, the state has ordered 151,500 doses for children and 257,000 for adults. Those numbers include both the injectible and nasal vaccine.
Last year, about 60 percent of the vaccine doses went to private physician’s offices, 8 percent to health centers, 18 percent to long- term-care facilities, 5 percent to hospitals, 5 percent to urgent- care centers and walk-in clinics, 2 percent to public clinics, and 2 percent to businesses. The breakdown is expected to be about the same this year, Beardsworth said, except that about 60 pharmacies enrolled, now that a change in state law permits pharmacists to administer the shots.
Rhode Island ranks No. 1 in the country for the percentage of people older than 65 who get immunized against the flu. In 2007, 80 percent received the vaccine, up 5 percent from the previous year and better than the national average of 72 percent.
But last year, many people who’d been inoculated still got sick because the vaccine wasn’t a perfect match for the strain of flu that was circulating.
Influenza is a lung infection that can cause fever, cough, body aches and fatigue. Most people recover in a week or two, but vulnerable people can have serious complications.
The following groups of people are strongly advised to get a flu shot: anyone age 50 or older; residents of long-term-care facilities; anyone with a chronic, long-term health condition such as heart or lung disease, asthma or diabetes; anyone with a weakened immune system; pregnant women; health-care workers; and anyone who lives with or cares for a high-risk person. [email protected] / (401) 277-7397
Originally published by Felice J Freyer, Journal Medical Writer.
(c) 2008 Providence Journal. Provided by ProQuest LLC. All rights Reserved.
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