Stores short on vaccine

Health: Pharmacies report dwindling supply, greater demand for shot to fight seasonal flu

VENICE BUHAIN; The Olympian | • Published October 23, 2009

Comments (0)

OLYMPIA – Pharmacy supplies of the seasonal flu vaccine have dwindled in Thurston County as demand has risen and production has fallen behind, pharmacists say.

Employees at many Olympia-area pharmacies said this week that they had run out of seasonal flu vaccine, and others say they’re nearly out. Only a handful reported adequate supplies.

More seasonal flu vaccine should be available in November, health officials and manufacturers say.

Stephen Allred, a nurse practitioner and the clinical director of GetAFluShot.com, the Oregon company that administers vaccinations for Ralph’s and Bayview Thriftway stores, has suspended flu clinics throughout Oregon and Washington because of the supply shortage.

“Due to the heightened awareness and anxiety due to H1N1 epidemic, the demand for seasonal flu vaccine went through the roof,” Allred said in an interview Thursday. “Ordinarily, I can call up any of my distributors, and I can get another 5,000 to 10,000 doses delivered to me with no problem at all. I don’t think you can find anybody who can get an order of additional vaccine this October.”

Higher demand is part of the reason.

“A clinic that we would normally do 30 (shots), we did 40 or 50,” said Paul Martin, a pharmacist and owner of Martin’s Southgate Drug in Tumwater.

He said people have been made more aware of the flu by the media coverage of the H1N1 influenza virus, a more contagious type of influenza that is hitting schools hard. One example is Washington State University, which had an outbreak of flu at the start of the 2009-10 school year.

“The increased awareness and what they see at places such as WSU, people are realizing that this is a real flu year,” Martin said. “It’s not one of those years where no one is going to get flu shots but no one gets sick.”

Seasonal flu vaccine doesn’t guard against H1N1, which requires a separate vaccine.

The fevers, coughs and sneezes at local schools mostly are caused by H1N1, local health officials say. Generally, seasonal influenza hits in January or February.

Vaccine manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur this week told The Pocono Record, a newspaper that covers the company’s Swiftwater, Pa., plant, that shipments of the seasonal flu vaccine have been delayed by several weeks because of the large number of H1N1 and seasonal flu vaccine orders it is filling. The company said in the statement that it was making 50.5 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine and 75.3 million doses of H1N1 vaccine.

Thurston County Public Health and Social Services director Sherri McDonald said Thurston County’s limited supplies of H1N1 vaccine have been distributed to doctors to administer to patients at the highest risk for complications.

“As more (H1N1) vaccine comes into the community, it will be available to everyone, and we will tell everybody,” McDonald said.

Those at highest risk appear to be people younger than 24, federal health officials have said. H1N1 is not spreading among seniors as quickly as it is among younger people.

“That’s why it’s confusing for some seniors, because they’ve always been at the head of the list for flu vaccine, but seniors have not been affected as much by H1N1,” Allred said.

Venice Buhain: 360-754-5445

vbuhain@theolympian.com

www.theolympian.com/edblog

FLU SHOT Q&A

Can I get seasonal flu vaccine in Thurston County?

Yes. Target in Olympia and Fred Meyer and Top Food & Drug in Lacey this week reported having the vaccine available. Safeway’s last scheduled flu clinics in Thurston County will be from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 31 at the stores at 1243 Marvin Road N.E. and at 4700 Yelm Road S.E., both in Lacey.

Is H1N1 vaccine available in Thurston County?

Yes. Thurston County Public Health and Social Services said limited supplies of the H1N1 vaccine have been sent to doctors’ offices to be given to people at highest risk for complications

What is the difference between H1N1 and seasonal flu?

The symptoms and potential for complications are identical, but H1N1 has been more contagious. Epidemiologists say that’s because most humans aren’t immune to H1N1.

Where can I get more information?

Go to www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/vaccine.