Shortage of flu vaccinations in Logan
Utah State University students may have to fend for themselves this year against the upcoming influenza season due to a shortage of vaccines across the nation.
A decision by British health officials to pull the license of a major vaccine producer has had health departments and hospitals around the United States scrambling to fill their supply of flu vaccinations for the upcoming flu season.
“It kind of hit us by surprise on Tuesday,” Carol Morrell, immunization director at the Bear River Health Department said. “We had no idea, we were expecting no problem.”
Morrell said when the word spread that the vaccinations weren’t going to be coming in, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) advised those distributing the flu shots to save the limited supply for “high risk” people.
Some of those who are considered high risk by the CDC are people older than 65, children between 6 and 23 months old and people with chronic illnesses.
Other catagories of “high risk” include out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children younger than 6 months of age, women who are pregnet during the flu season and healthcare workers with direct patient care.
Morrell says the reason these people are considered high risk is not because they are more susceptible to the disease, but because, “if they were to get the flu, they would have more complications.”
According to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, most people that contract the flu get well within one week.
However, for people who are considered high risk, the effects of the disease and its complications can be life-threatening.
Morrell added that, for right now, the Bear River Health Department will hold off vaccinating those who aren’t considered high risk, because their immune systems are stronger.
But this may change if the United States can get more vaccines from the remaining supplier Aventis Pasteur.
“Right now, we’re just waiting to see what the CDC will tell us,” she said.
Because of a contamination of the flu vaccines produced by Chiron Corp, the United States will receive 55 million vaccines, only half of what is needed, even with the extra from Aventis.
“We’re not sure about the effect this will have on us,” Morrell said. “At this point it is hard to know what will happen. It is hard to predict what we’ll see this year. We’re waiting to see what the CDC will tell us.”
Last year, the CDC estimated 10 to 20 percent of Americans come down with the flu each season.
The flu season begins in November and usually goes through March and peaks in February.
Morrell said usually the Bear River Health Department starts vaccinating high risk people in October and the general population should try to get vaccinated in November.
Most of the time, the virus is not life-threatening. However, the CDC said that last year 100,000 people were hospitalized and around 36,000 people died.
Until they can find a way to fill the shortage, Morrell, along with the Bear River Health Department, encourages everyone to use good hygiene practices including washing hands and covering mouths when sneezing or coughing to prevent the spread of the virus.
“We really encourage those people that are high risk to come in and get their shots,” she said.
For those looking to get vaccinated, Morrell said, besides the BRHD, students can try to get a vaccine with a doctor or pharmacy.
The Bear River Health Department began giving flu vaccinations Wednesday to “high risk” individuals.
As information comes in from the CDC, Morrell said they willpost it on the Internet at www.brhd.org.
For more information about qualifications and availabilty of vaccinations call the Bear River Health Department at 792-6500 or the Student Health and Wellness Center at 797-1660.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu