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Student Health Programs restricts shots in lieu of flu vaccine shortage

SIUC has received its shipment of vaccines for the upcoming flu season, but priority will be given to those who are more vulnerable to the disease.

Student Health Programs has followed other public health facilities around the country in attempting to guarantee flu vaccines to high-risk patients in response to the nationwide shortage of available shots this year.

"We don't see this as a serious issue, but we want students to know that it is available to those who need it," said Chris Labyk, an assistant director of Student Health Programs.

Among those in the high-risk group include senior citizens 65 and older, women who are pregnant and adults and children with chronic disorders, chronic metabolic diseases or other immune illnesses.

Due to the suspension of its license, Chiron Corporation, which is based in Liverpool, England, notified the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Oct. 5 it would not be able to distribute any of its influenza vaccine FluVirin to the United States.

The news came two months after Chiron informed regulators that eight lots of its flu vaccine were contaminated with bacteria, which could cause urinary tract infections in humans.

The company was to produce between 46 and 48 million doses of the vaccine, nearly half of the total vaccine order for the 2004-2005 flu season.

The CDC, along with its Advisory on Immunization Practices, has asked health individuals to forgo their annual vaccines to insure that enough of the medications could go around to high-risk patients.

Each year, the United States has two companies manufacture flu vaccines. The other company, Aventis, produces approximately 55 million doses.

Labyk said Student Health Programs ordered all of its supply from Aventis and has already received its shipment for the year. An injection through Student Health Programs costs $10 for the drug and $6 for the injection.

But other universities were not so lucky. Illinois State University health officials ordered all of its flu vaccines from Chiron. Last year, the Student Health Service at ISU vaccinated 2,800 people, with the majority either attending or employed by the university. ISU is waiting to hear whether it can receive vaccines from Aventis.

Jake Baggot, who is also an assistant director of Student Health Programs, said college campuses across the country have asked other institutions for vaccine donations, but whether SIUC will distribute its supply is wait-and-see.

"We're holding back until we find out what the need is going to be here," Baggot said. "We want to make sure our population's needs are met first for those who are in the high-risk category, and then we can evaluate what's left."

The flu season begins in October and ends in May. Labyk said the peak months for the disease are usually during the winter months.

Approximately 36,000 Americans die each year from the flu, but Labyk said 90 percent of them are over the age of 65.

"Most people are generally healthy," she said. "It's not a concern."

 

 

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