THURSDAY, Nov. 10, 2005 (HealthDay News) -- A top U.S. health official on Thursday delivered an optimistic picture of this season's flu vaccine availability.
There almost certainly will be some temporary local shortages, but there will be enough vaccine available to immunize just about anyone who wants a shot, Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a press briefing.
"We have at least 71 million doses now," she said. "By the end of November we should have more than 81 million. We might end up with the most ever."
And if demand justifies it, production can be continued into December, Gerberding added.
"Fortunately, this year the flu season is not off to an early start, and there is plenty of time for people to get their shots," Gerberding said.
Her comments came in the wake of news reports that some health officials from across the country are reporting trouble securing enough vaccines to meet demand.
Some shortages already have been reported, most notably in Arizona, Gerberding said, but "the big picture this year, unlike last year, is that there are plenty of doses and plenty of time for people to get vaccinated."
She mentioned that her mother, frustrated at not being able to get vaccinated immediately, asked her doctor whether she should go out of state for a shot. She was advised to simply wait a few weeks for the vaccination, Gerberding said.
Still, "in some communities, specific advice about vaccine availability might differ," Gerberding said, recommending that people "pay attention to what local health officials say."
Among the reports of flu shot shortages were these:
- Maxim Health Systems, which vaccinates about 2 million people a year, said it had canceled its flu shot clinics at chain retailers and pharmacies because it couldn't get enough vaccine, citing a 30 percent to 40 percent increase in demand compared with 2003. USA Today reported that the company had to call off 3,300 to 3,600 clinics, about 10 percent of the total planned for the year. "We couldn't find enough (vaccine) to continue to support those events," said Steve Wright, director of Maxim's Wellness Services.
- In Houston, Methodist Wellness Services, which is 10,000 doses short of its 25,000-dose order, is postponing corporate flu clinics until more vaccine arrives, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.
- Supermarkets, churches and community health clinics in the Washington, D.C., area are struggling to keep up with vaccine demand after distributors canceled or postponed vaccination programs, according to the Washington Times.
- And distribution problems were blamed for vaccine shortages in Sacramento, Calif., according to CBS News.
Gerberding said demand for the vaccine is at an all-time high, and she believes this surge in demand has been fueled by two factors. One is the memory of last year's vaccine shortage. "The specter of pandemic influenza also frightens people," Gerberding added.
Such a pandemic would most likely occur only if avian flu virus somehow mutated so it could pass freely from human to human, she noted. The U.S. government recently proposed a $7.2 billion program to meet such a crisis.
But it's important for Americans to realize the danger of ordinary influenza, as well, which causes 36,000 deaths a year in the United States, Gerberding said. "As a society, we underestimate how important influenza is to our health," she said.
To help ensure that the most vulnerable people, such as the elderly and ill, get vaccinated, Gerberding urged that healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49 use the nasal version of the vaccine -- "an excellent vaccine for healthy people, which might be more efficacious than regular flu vaccine."
For children under 5, "there is also good news about pediatric vaccine," she said. "There are no significant shortages."
The heightened demand for flu vaccine, while it might cause some temporary frustration, is welcome, Gerberding said. An estimated 80 million Americans who are at highest risk should be vaccinated, "and we've never come close to that," she said.
More information
Get the latest on flu and flu vaccine from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
