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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend October 26, 2005 Flu shots fall victim to the wait for vaccine By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune If you think you have problems finding a flu shot, consider the plight of the folks who poke you with the needle. Many health care providers are stuck in the middle between patients who want their flu shot NOW and suppliers who are under no constraint to deliver the vaccine on any specific date. "This is ulcer time for those of us who coordinate the (flu vaccination) process," said Carol Tovey, a pharmaceutical buyer for Medford Medical Clinic. Vaccine deliveries from some suppliers have fallen behind schedule, forcing some health-care providers to juggle their plans for flu immunization clinics and leaving others no choice but to postpone their clinics until vaccine arrives. MMC received its 2,200 doses of vaccine in three separate deliveries spread over four weeks. As of Tuesday, Providence Medford Medical Center had not received any of its order of 4,800 doses of vaccine that it distributes at flu-shot clinics for seniors across Jackson County. Advertisement "We’re not expecting our shipment until the first or second week of November," said Lori Braughton, coordinator of Providence’s flu immunization program. "Right now I’m pushing all my clinics back into November." Rogue Valley Medical Center received its first batch of vaccine Tuesday, said Shirley Frigaard, employee health nurse at the medical center. RVMC uses the vaccine to immunize employees at health- care facilities operated by Asante Health System, its parent company. State and federal officials continue to say there will be ample supplies of vaccine this year, in sharp contrast to 2004, when supplies were rationed after British manufacturer Chiron had to destroy its entire production run. "At this point in time the amount of flu vaccine will exceed what we had last year," said Dr. Fred Hoesly, an epidemiologist with the Oregon Department of Human Services. "It’s just going to be later." Vaccine manufacturers have offered few explanations for the delay. A press release Tuesday from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributed the delays to "distribution anomalies that are expected to be resolved soon." That explanation didn’t sit well with Hank Collins, Jackson County’s director of Health and Human Services. "These same assurances haven’t changed since the beginning of flu season," Collins said. "You have to wonder who’s in charge (of the distribution system)." Collins said news reports about avian flu in Asia have made people more interested in protecting themselves against the human influenza virus. "I sense from people that I talk to that if we did have the vaccine more people would avail themselves of it given the excitement about pandemic flu." Four companies manufacture the millions of doses of flu vaccine that are used in the United States in a process that’s expensive and time-consuming. The vaccine is grown on fertile chicken eggs, and it takes three eggs for each dose of vaccine — one for each strain of virus that’s included in the vaccine. Hoesly said communication between the manufacturers and federal regulators such as the Food and Drug Administration and CDC hasn’t been as good as it could be. After last year’s shortage, vaccine orders are being filled in stages to ensure that all providers have some. Tovey said the staggered delivery frustrated MMC’s plans to organize an efficient flu-immunization clinic. Plans for a large-scale vaccination program had to be scrapped because the vaccine simply wasn’t there. "It’s difficult to plan when you don’t know how you can distribute the vaccine," Tovey said. Now that the clinic’s full complement of vaccine is in hand, regular patients can call to arrange an appointment for a flu shot, Tovey said. Those who are not regular patients may have problems with insurance coverage, she said. Hoesly said Oregon has recorded five influenza cases so far this year in Oregon, but it’s too early in the season to speculate about how intense the virus will be. Braughton said there’s ample time to get a flu shot before the prime flu season — December, January and February — because the vaccine provides immunity within two weeks. For more information For information about local flu clinics, call the Providence flu hotline (732-6254) or visit Internet sites such as: www.getaflushot.com www.findaflushot.com flucliniclocator.org Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail Flu shots fall victim to the wait for vaccine ">[email protected] . 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