Flu clinics in limbo due to vaccine shortage Flu clinics in limbo due to vaccine shortage (October 13, 2004)

The national shortage of flu vaccine is causing the cancellation of local flu shot clinics, as county officials struggle to make sure that the limited number of doses available will get to those who need it most.

Officials from the Woodside Fire Protection District said the district's annual free flu shot clinic is cancelled until further notice, and may not be rescheduled, due to the shortage. Sutter Health postponed all its local flu shot clinics, and canceled all healthy workplace clinics, said spokeswoman Gerri Ginsberg. Updates are available by calling (800) 500-2400.

Kaiser Permanente's Redwood City hospital had planned to have flu shot clinics for members from October 16 to November 19. Those plans are on hold while hospital officials work to comply with directions from San Mateo County's public health department to limit doses to high-risk people.

Kaiser members can get updates on the flu clinic's status by calling (866) 573-5811.

Kaiser has its supply of vaccine -- "Aventis came through with our order," said Dr. D. Scott Smith, chief of infectious disease at Kaiser Medical Center in San Jose. But all flu shot providers are under an order issued by the state's public health officer, Richard Joseph Jackson, to limit shots to people considered most at risk during flu season.

They include: people 65 and older; children ages 6-23 months; people with chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes or heart disease; health- care workers; relatives and caregivers of infants younger than 6 months; people with compromised immune systems; pregnant women; and residents of nursing homes or long-term care facilities.

"I am taking this action to ensure that individuals at the highest risk for serious or life-threatening illness with influenza receive flu shots," said Mr. Jackson.

The state had ordered nearly 600,000 doses of flu vaccine from Chiron Corp. in Emeryville, one of the nation's two largest suppliers. Chiron's subcontractor in Liverpool, England, was recently shut down after bacterial contamination was discovered, causing the current shortage in the U.S. flu vaccine supply.

"If you don't fall into a high-risk group, you should defer or forgo your flu shots," said Ms. Ginsberg of Sutter Health. "It is early in the flu season -- too early to tell how severe the shortage will be. There may be enough vaccine to vaccinate the high-risk people."

INFORMATION

For updates on the flu-shot shortage, call the San Mateo County Flu Hotline at 573-3927.

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