Seasonal Vaccine Shortage In U.s. Stoked By Swine Flu Vigilance
The two influenza strains, which carry similar symptoms and outcomes, may circulate concurrently in the U.S. for the first time beginning this month, normally the official start of the flu season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said. They require separate vaccinations that can be given at the same time, government health officials said on Oct. 9.
About 77 million doses of seasonal vaccine have already shipped in the U.S., more than ever before at this time of year, the CDC said. Still, doctors are reporting delays in getting the product, and CVS Caremark Corp. and Walgreen Co., the two largest U.S. drugstore chains, last week reported spot shortages. The first doses of vaccine for swine flu, also known as H1N1, were given to health-care workers and children on Oct. 8, with about 6.8 million doses available for ordering.
“Every doctor I know has run out or never received any” seasonal vaccine, said Brett Buchmiller, an allergist and immunologist at Allergy & Asthma Specialists in Dallas. “I have had to tell my patients, do not wait for me.”
Buchmiller ordered 1,200 doses in January for delivery in mid-September. He said he hasnt received any of his shipment and was told by his distributor that he may not get any.
Doctors Offices
Shortages at doctors offices and health clinics have also been reported in upstate New York, Vermont, Minnesota, North and South Dakota, Illinois and Arizona, according to the Web sites of local newspapers including the Addison County Independent in Vermont, the Star Tribune in Minneapolis and the Grand Forks Herald of North Dakota.
CVS MinuteClinics in Austin, Texas, and New York ran out of the seasonal-flu vaccine within the past week before restocking, according to calls to 13 stores by Bloomberg News. Calls to eight Walgreen stores in Manhattan on Oct. 5 determined none had it at the time. There are also shortages in the South and Southeast, said James Cohn, a Walgreen spokesman.
Demand for seasonal-flu vaccinations has soared because of public awareness of swine flu, Walgreens Cohn said. While the Atlanta-based CDC is no longer counting swine flu cases, it reported last week that H1N1 is spread widely in 37 U.S. states.
Americans are demanding both vaccinations, even though about 99 percent of laboratory tested flu viruses are of the H1N1 variety. Walgreen administered 2.5 million seasonal flu vaccine doses last month, more than twice as many as in the entire 2008 flu season, Cohn said.
Given Simultaneously
The vaccinations can safely be administered simultaneously, Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease in Bethesda, Maryland, said last week, citing studies in 800 people. Supplies of the H1N1 vaccine, though, may be limited for the next few weeks, according to the CDC.
“Every single customer that we have has gotten at least their initial shipment from us,” Cary said.
More doses are being shipped, and in a few weeks, there should be enough of both vaccines for everyone who wants to get them, said Anne Schuchat, head of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, on Oct. 9.
Good News, Bad News
“The good news is that we have more seasonal-flu vaccine out than we typically would this time of year,” Schuchat said. “The bad news is that more people want it than can seem to be able to get it.”
When retail pharmacy chains run out of vaccine at one location, they can redistribute doses from areas where demand isnt as great. Thats not always the case for doctors.
“We tried to go to several other manufacturers and distributors and have had no luck,” said Adam Stracher, director of primary care for the Weill Cornell Physician Organization in New York, in an Oct. 9 telephone interview. “Distributors are telling me they havent gotten their full shipments yet.”
Stracher ran out of vaccine for his doctors offices after receiving 1,800 doses of his 7,000-dose order from Sanofi. He said hes expecting another shipment of about 2,000 vaccines in the next two weeks, and that Sanofi couldnt guarantee the rest of his order.