Flu vaccine shortage now a surplus in some areas

Shots are now available to all comers in many states.

By Victoria Stagg Elliott, AMNews staff. Feb. 7, 2005.

Deep into the flu season, public health officials in states with excess vaccine supplies have switched gears from trying to convince only a select few to receive the shot to encouraging anyone and everyone to get one.

The United States' expected supplies of injectable influenza vaccine were nearly halved when Chiron Corp. announced in early October 2004 that it would be unable to provide supplies. Public health officials rapidly issued proclamations reserving the vaccine for those who needed it most.

Those recommendations since have been revised because of ample supplies in some areas. The reason for the excess is that many of the people at high risk for serious flu complications didn't even attempt to get a shot. Anecdotal evidence suggests that this is either because of their confusion over where to get the flu shot or because they wanted it to go to someone who needed it even more.

One example of the strategy shift is Alaska, where the state lifted all restrictions on the vaccine Jan. 6.

"We now recommend that remaining vaccine doses be used for anyone wishing to receive the immunization," said Richard Mandsager, MD, director of Alaska's Division of Public Health. "We want to use all of our remaining vaccine to ensure as many people as possible are protected from influenza."