Flu vaccine shortages in Hawai'i not likely

Advertiser News Services

The two major U.S. manufacturers of the influenza vaccine said yesterday that they have shipped all of this year's production and will not be able to make any more before the flu season ends.

Although spot shortages of the vaccine exist, a large number of doses are still in the pipeline and most everyone who desires a shot should be able to get it, experts said.

Besides, another 4 million doses of a new oral flu vaccine called FluMist are available, which should help to ease the shortage.

Dr. Linda Rosen, Hawai'i deputy health director, said the state's supply is sufficient to accommodate the normal number of vaccination requests and any expected increase stemming from concerns over an outbreak on the Mainland. She said she had no estimate of the number of doses on hand in the Islands.

The two major manufacturers, Aventis Pasteur and Chiron Corp., produced an estimated 83 million doses of the flu vaccine this fall. The United States has never used more than 80 million doses in a flu season, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a typical year, between 70 million and 75 million people get the shots.

But demand has surged this year, prompted by the early start of the flu season and reports of several deaths in November, including at least seven children in Colorado.

In a normal year, about 114,000 people are hospitalized by influenza and 36,000 die, but experts expect those numbers to double this winter.

Rosen also did not have figures on exactly how many Hawaii residents had been vaccinated, but said anecdotal evidence indicated the number was about three times higher than usual.

"We've seen an unprecedented surge of vaccine orders," said Len Lavenda, a spokesman for Aventis. "We have now shipped all our available supplies."

It takes about four months to manufacture the vaccine, so neither company will be able to produce any more before the flu season ends in March.

One solution for many people may be FluMist, the recently approved oral vaccine produced by MedImmune Inc. and distributed by Wyeth.

Sales have been slow so far, experts say, because FluMist is nearly twice as expensive as a conventional vaccine, and its cost is not covered by many insurance plans.

The company has recently begun offering a $25 rebate coupon with the vaccine, however, to encourage sales.

The Los Angeles Times and Associated Press contributed to this report.