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Vaccine delays cause concern Mail Tribune / Jim Craven Bud Morano, of Wimer, gets a flu shot from Providence Medford Medical Center nurse Linda Moore Wednesday during a clinic at the Central Point Grange. Thousands of seniors who lined up early to get their shot � afraid of a potential shortage of vaccine � have tapped most of the available vaccine in the valley. But health officials say a full complement of the vaccine is on the way. Health officials say flu shots will just take longer Bill Kettler CENTRAL POINT � The early birds had to wait. Hundreds of seniors traveled to the Central Point Grange Wednesday morning to get their annual flu shot. So many arrived so early that the waiting line stretched out the door, down the steps and out onto the sidewalk. "We always come early in the season," said Bud Morano, who drove from Wimer to get his flu shot. "I just come early and get it over," said Donna Norris, of Central Point. Where to get flu shots Flu shots will be offered at many locations around Jackson County during November. There is no central source of information that lists all sites where flu shots will be offered. Some shot clinics provide information to the Oregon Health Division, which operates Safenet, a health information telephone line. To find out about flu immunization sites near you, call 1-800-SAFENET (1-800-723-3638). A partial list of Jackson County flu immunization sites is printed below. Some are operated by the Jackson County Department of Health and Human Services. Others are provided by private operators. Fees may vary among sites. Oct. 28: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Costco, 3639 Crater Lake Highway, Medford. Nov. 1: 1 to 3:30 p.m., Jackson County Health Department, 1005 E. Main St., Medford. Nov. 1: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 449 S. Ivy St., Medford. Nov. 2: 3 to 7 p.m., Costco. Nov. 3: noon to 7 p.m., Rick�s Great Way Market, 11100 Highway 62, Eagle Point. Nov. 3: noon to 2 p.m., St. Mark�s Episcopal Church, 212 N. Oakdale Ave., Medford. Nov. 4: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., Costco. Nov. 6: 1 to 3:30 p.m., Rogue Family Center, 3131 Avenue C, White City. Nov. 8: 1 to 4 p.m., First Church of the Nazarene, 1974 E. McAndrews Road, Medford. Nov. 10 : noon to 7 p.m., Tark�s Market, 215 E. Wagner Creek Road, Talent. Nov. 12: noon to 3 p.m., Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, 745 N. 10th St., Central Point. Nov. 14: 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Rogue River Community Center, 132 Broadway, Rogue River. Nov. 15: noon to 3 p.m., Jackson County Courthouse, 10 S. Oakdale Ave., Medford. Nov. 16 : 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., Eagle Point Senior Center, 121 Loto St., Eagle Point. Nov. 17: noon to 4 p.m., Trinity Episcopal Church, 44 N. Second St., Ashland. Nov. 20: noon to 3 p.m., Jacksonville Presbyterian Church, Sixth and California streets, Jacksonville. Nov. 27: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Rogue Valley Mall, Education Resource Center, first floor, next to Mervyn�s. Nov. 29: 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Phoenix Pharmacy, 700 N. Main St., Phoenix. Thousands of seniors across the Rogue Valley who had the same idea have tapped most of the available flu vaccine in Jackson County. Public health officials expect Southern Oregon to receive plenty of flu vaccine over the next few weeks, but manufacturing problems during the summer have made the vaccine scarce at the beginning of the immunization season. "It�s as annoying as anything can get," said Vicki Barbour, of Jackson County Public Health Services. "We�ve done everything right. We�re at the mercy of the manufacturers." Providence Medford Medical Center had to cancel a flu-shot clinic scheduled for today in Central Point because it had not received its full complement of flu vaccine. "We ordered 5,700 (units)," said Karen Bartalini, who manages the flu shot clinics for Providence Senior Services. "We�ll probably do about 5,200 (injections)." Flu shots are recommended for people over age 65 and people with serious health problems such as diabetes and heart disease. While vaccine supplies are scarce, public health officials have asked immunization providers to immunize only people who are most vulnerable. Barbour said flu vaccine has been scarce in other years, but this year�s well-publicized manufacturing problem seems to have created a mistaken impression that there might not be enough vaccine for everyone. "They�ve promised us they�ll be able to provide what we ordered," Barbour said, "but it could come as late as December." The reality is that people who want flu shots will be able to get them," she said. "They may just get them a little late." The vaccine�s late arrival probably will not cause significant health problems, said Jennifer Kelly, of the Oregon Health Division. Generally, the flu does not appear in Oregon until December, and it does not peak until January or February. The vaccine begins to build resistance to the flu within days and acquires its full strength within several weeks. "Even though we�re used to getting (vaccine) in October," she said, "there�s still benefit in getting it in November." Kelly noted that a Web site for the federal Centers for Disease Control reported 28 percent of the year�s influenza vaccine has been shipped. Forty-two percent will be shipped in November, and the final 30 percent in December. Barbour said there have been no flu cases reported in Oregon so far this season, and there is no evidence to suggest the flu will be any worse than normal. Kelly said vaccines are scarce this fall because one of the four drug firms that normally manufacture it did not make any. Another manufacturer encountered problems that delayed production. Supplies "depend on who you ordered from," Kelly said. "Some people had theirs in September." Bartalini, who has managed Providence�s flu-shot clinics since the early �90s, said the perceived shortage has made for busy days for nurses and volunteers. A clinic on Tuesday that normally draws about 250 people attracted more than 450, and nurses and volunteers administered more than 400 flu shots during the first hour of Wednesday�s Central Point clinic. "I got 85 percent of (the vaccine) I ordered," she said. "For a normal year that would have been just fine." But this is not a normal year, she said. "Everybody�s decided they�re going to get (a flu shot), whether they need it or not." On the Web: www.cdc.gov/nip/flu-vac-supply/ Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2000 Mail Tribune, Inc.