Posted on: Saturday, October 30, 2004
Vaccine arrives but is limited
By Robbie Dingeman
Advertiser Health Writer
The state Health Department received another 2,500 doses of flu vaccine this week.
People in high-risk groups who still should try to get the vaccine are:
• Children, 6 months to 23 months old
• Adults, 65 and older
• People with chronic illnesses, including asthma, diabetes and heart disease • Pregnant women Avoid the flu
• Stay home when you are sick. • Avoid close contact with people who are sick. • Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. • If you don't have a tissue, sneeze or cough into your upper sleeve, not into your hands, so you don't spread germs onto doorknobs, telephones, faucets, etc. • Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth so you don't pick up germs from contaminated surfaces. • Recognize the flu symptoms, including fever, body aches and feelings of exhaustion. (Colds come with coughing, runny nose and other milder symptoms.) • Seek care early if you suspect you have the flu. • After Monday, call Aloha United Way's 211 telephone line to find out where high-risk people may still get a limited supply of vaccine. The toll-free number is (877) 275-6569. Flu can kill. Each year, about 36,000 adults nationwide, most of them elderly, die from the flu, including several hundred in Hawai'i.
Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; state Health Department Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said those doses represent half of the state's original order with Chiron Corp., the company that was prevented from releasing 46 million doses of the vaccine after British officials raised questions about it.
Okubo said the state plans to add the vaccine to the pool of 6,000 doses being used for those at highest risk for serious complications from the flu: the elderly confined to long-termicare facilities and the chronically ill. State health officials indicate that Hawai'i may have enough flu vaccine if physicians and patients statewide continue to follow federal guidelines and limit flu shots to those who are most vulnerable.
Deputy health director Dr. Linda Rosen said Hawai'i healthcare providers have received about 230,000 doses of flu vaccine this year although it's unclear how much is left or how that compares to the number of doses distributed last year.
The CDC this week shipped more than 4.2 million influenza vaccine doses. Since Oct. 11, more than 9 million doses of flu vaccine have been shipped to: state health departments, the Department of Veterans Affairs, long-termicare facilities/acute-care hospitals, the vaccines-for-children program, physicians who provide care for young children; the Department of Defense; and others serving high-priority groups.
"We are and will continue to take all the steps possible to get vaccine out in an equitable way to those who need it most," said CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding.
She praised the cooperation shown by another vaccine manufacturer — Aventis Pasteur — as well as state and local health officials, hospitals and the public.
Gerberding said about 16.5 million remaining doses of vaccine will be shipped to public and private vaccine providers, at a rate of about 2.5 million to 3 million doses per week, through early December. Another 2.6 million doses of the Aventis Pasteur vaccine will be available for shipment in early January.
On Oct. 5, Chiron Corp. announced that none of the doses of influenza vaccine it had produced would be available this year, which erased half of the expected U.S. flu vaccine and caused a wave of anxiety among people fearful of facing flu season.
For more information about the flu, visit the Web site for the CDC: www.cdc.gov/flu.
The arrival is part of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plan to send doses from the scarce supply to high-priority groups nationwide.
Flu tips and facts
