Despite surplus, flu shots may be hard to find

updated 6:13 p.m. ET Oct. 18, 2006

WASHINGTON - Flu vaccine makers will provide 115 million doses to the U.S. market this year, by far the most ever, but vexing distribution problems mean it may still be difficult to get a shot, health officials said Wednesday.

Doctors should start vaccinating patients as soon as they receive their vaccine orders, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said.

They should aim to get high-risk patients, such as the elderly, vaccinated first but there is no advisory calling for such patients to be first in line, as in past years.

"We recommend beginning vaccinating now, instead of waiting until later, when more vaccine arrives," Dr. Jeanne Santoli, deputy director of the CDC's Immunization Services Division, told reporters.

"More vaccine will be arriving throughout the season and we anticipate that there will be more vaccine available this season than ever before."

Santoli said 40 million doses had arrived at either distributors or doctors' officials from the manufacturers, and estimated that 75 million doses would arrive by the end of October. The flu season peaks in February or later in the United States, so there is plenty of time to be vaccinated, she said.

Only half of those advised to get shots did
The United States has had continual battles over flu vaccine, with regular shortages due either to manufacturing troubles or distribution woes. Every flu season many people are forced to wait in lines for their vaccines to to seek them again and again.

Yet fewer than half of all Americans plan to get the vaccine — including fewer than half of the 185 million people who are strongly advised to be immunized every year.

INTERACTIVE Test your IQ Is it a cold, the flu or something else?

Last year, 81.2 million doses of vaccine were available and a few went unused.

Influenza kills an estimated 36,000 Americans, mostly elderly, in an average year and puts 200,000 into the hospital. Globally, flu kills 250,000 to 500,000 every year.

Many different flu strains circulate and they change a little every year, sometimes mutating a great deal, so the vaccine must be reformulated each year. It is manufactured using an old-fashioned and uncertain process that requires chicken eggs and months of production.

This seasonal flu vaccine provides no protection against bird flu, which does not yet widely affect people.

Distribution complications
The U.S. system relies almost entirely on the private sector to distribute flu vaccines. Each manufacturer's vaccine must be approved and distributed separately.

"Unfortunately the situation leaves providers with uncertainty about when they can expect to receive their orders," Santoli said.

Earlier this week Sanofi Pasteur said its flu shots specially formulated for young children would be delayed and that many doses would not be available until November.

MedImmune said Wednesday that it had released for distribution all 3 million doses of its nasal spray vaccine, FluMist, which is approved for healthy people over the age of 5.

MORE FROM COLD AND FLU

Cold and flu Section Front

Interest in seasonal flu shots may be waning Little evidence Tamiflu works, report says P&G recalls Vicks nasal spray after bacteria found How to stay healthy during flu season 9 surprising places where germs lurk County to sick workers: Stay home or risk firing FDA warns P&G for adding vitamin C to Nyquil Rite Aid alters pregnant women's flu shot rules Seasonal flu vaccine delayed for some doctors Test aims to detect flu — before symptoms Cold and flu Section Front   Add Cold and flu headlines to your news reader: