Flu vaccine shortage is now excess

Four months ago a flu vaccine shortage caused hundreds of thousands across the country to wait in lines for hours to get vaccinated.

Now, in some areas of the county, officials are having a hard time giving vaccines away. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is predicting that nearly 4 million unused doses may wind up in the trash.

Locally the vaccine is still in short supply. Only about 150 doses are available at the Jackson County Health Department. But some health industry officials say getting vaccinated now may be useless, as flu season is beginning to peak.

"We're not administering the vaccine anymore," said Chris Labyk, assistant director of Student Health Programs. "But the other issue here is that it probably wouldn't do any good right now anyway. It takes several weeks to develop antibodies, and by then the season will have peaked and we would be looking to next year and entirely different strands of the virus."

Labyk said despite the shortage, the flu does not seem to be any more widespread than in previous years, although more and more patients are trickling in daily complaining of flu-like symptoms.

But for those who still wish to get vaccinated, Kathy O'Laughlin, a registered nurse at the county health department, said all previous health and age limitations have been lifted. "I would say that this is the last chance to get the vaccine," O'Laughlin said.

"There are an increasing number of cases each week. The East Coast is the most active currently, but we expect regional flu activity will increase soon." Nationally, the CDC says flu season lasts until April, but in Illinois it generally peaks in February and lasts through March.

Because flu changes from season to season, excess vaccines cannot be saved. And while next week the Food and Drug Administration is expected to pick flu strains included in next season's vaccine, lawmakers are examining ways to prevent a repeat of this year's shortage-turned-excess.

"What one would like to do is match supply and demand, and that is not possible under the current system," said Dr. Greg Poland, director of the Mayo Clinic's vaccine research group in a Boston Globe article published Wednesday.

In the same article, health specialists speculated if the current system for obtaining vaccines - a combination of government incentives, safeguards and the free market - isn't changed, next season could bring more shortages.

If that happened, Labyk would be offering the same advice next year to those who could not be vaccinated as she is this year: "Drink lots of fluids, wash hands frequently, stay away from people who are sick and avoid alcohol and tobacco."