FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Blue Hill. In early October, flu vaccine manufacturer Chiron Corporation informed the Center for Disease Control (CDC) that none of its influenza vaccine would be available for distribution. This cut in half the expected supply of flu shots available in the US for the 2004–05 influenza season.
Blue Hill Memorial Hospital has published Flu Vaccine Shortage Guidelines, in keeping with the State’s Bureau of Health recommendations. The focus is on making sure available supply reaches those who are most vulnerable.
In these very difficult circumstances, the Bureau of Health is making the following recommendations:
- Healthy people between 2 and 64 years of age should not be vaccinated.
- At this time, vaccine administered at rural health clinics, must be restricted to these two groups:
- High-Risk Children (all children 6-23 months and children 2-18 years with underlying chronic medical conditions, including those on chronic aspirin therapy);
- Appropriate residents of long-term care facilities (appropriate in light of the resident’s current health prognosis).
- Non-State Supplied Vaccine should be given to the following groups (who are population groups at highest risk for severe disease):
- High-Risk Children;
- Appropriate residents of long-term care facilities.
And the most vulnerable members of the following groups:
o Adults 65 years and older;
o Other adults with chronic underlying medical conditions;
o Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season.
According to the State, the good news is that there are no identified influenza outbreaks in the U.S. at this time, and we normally do not see influenza outbreaks in Maine for several weeks.
Susan Young, head of Infection Disease Control at BHMH, said “Currently, the Hospital and its four clinics located in Bucksport, Stonington, Blue Hill and Castine, do not have any flu vaccines. We receive our vaccine from the state. The state was relying on Chiron for their vaccine and we don’t know if and how many we will receive this year. When we know if we will receive flu vaccines we will put a notice in the paper and prioritize based on clinical guidelines.”
The Hospital organized the following questions and answers to keep people informed:
Q: What should people do if they can’t get the vaccine?
A: They should engage in basic preventive behavior like washing their hands. If they have actual symptoms of the flu, doctors may also be able to prescribe antiviral drugs.
Q: Is there anything people should do right now?
A: Right now, there’s little to do other than wait and see what happens. If you’re a high-risk patient and your doctor has vaccine, take it. But if you’re not in the high-risk category, there’s no need to rush—better to wait for government officials to determine what the next steps should be.
Q: Will there be a recall of Chiron vaccine in the U.S.?
A: No. Chiron hadn’t released the vaccine to distributors, so there’s no need for a recall.
Q: What about FluMist?
A: FluMist nasal spray is only recommended for healthy people ages five years to 49—not the people most at risk.
Q: Where can consumers look to get other questions answered?
A: A useful Web site is http://www.cdc.gov/flu/
Persons Who Should Not Receive Influenza Vaccine
Persons in the following groups should not receive influenza vaccine before talking with their doctor:
Ø Persons with a severe allergy (i.e., anaphylactic allergic reaction) to hens' eggs.
Ø Persons who previously had onset of Guillain-Barré syndrome during the 6 weeks after receiving influenza vaccine.
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