By Stephen Smith Globe Staff / September 18, 2009
Shipments of vaccine against seasonal influenza are arriving slower than expected in Massachusetts, a delay that is likely to cause some inoculation drives to be postponed.
The state Department of Public Health this week issued an alert to doctors, urging them to hold off on large vaccinationcampaigns at public clinics and schools for about a month. As a result, doctors and nurses may wind up dispensing vaccine against both seasonal flu and the swine strain at the same time.
?Unfortunately, we have recently learned . . . that the scheduled delivery for the remaining doses of seasonal flu vaccine will not be as accelerated as originally anticipated, due to prioritization of [swine flu] vaccine and other challenges,?? the state told doctors.
Massachusetts, one of the biggest government buyers of flu vaccine in the nation, had placed orders for 880,000 seasonal flu doses. So far, the state has distributed close to 400,000 doses to doctors and clinics, and 100,000 more are expected in about a week, said John Auerbach, state commissioner of public health.
Manufacturers expect to produce enough seasonal flu vaccine for ev eryone who wants it - just not as soon as forecast. Health authorities had banked on most of the vaccine being available by the end of this month; now, that?s being pushed back to late October or early November.
In part, it reflects an unexpected scientific challenge. The seasonal vaccine is brewed to thwart three different strains, and one of them - from the ?B?? family - proved especially difficult to work with.
In part, it reflects the frenzy of activity at vaccine manufacturers, which , in addition to making seasonal vaccine, are churning out nearly 200 million doses against the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu.
?Every flu season has challenges, and this one is not without its challenges,?? said Donna Cary, a spokeswoman for the biggest maker of seasonal vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur. ?We thought we had accommodated for that, but in addition to the low yielding ?B? strain, we?re also producing the pandemic vaccine, and producing both in one year limits our flexibility in scheduling shipments.??
After swine flu emerged in the United States in late April, federal disease specialists and pharmaceutical companies embarked on an unprecedented sprint to develop a vaccine to slow the spread of the H1N1 virus. At the same time, companies were asked to expedite their production of seasonal shots so that factory lines would be available for swine flu vaccine.
Shipments of the seasonal vaccine began earlier than ever, and shot kiosks opened earlier than before in drugstores, airports, and neighborhood clinics.
?It may not be on every street corner or in every drugstore at this point, and you might have to make a call to find it,?? said Joe Quimby, a spokesman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ?But all of the 115 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine are on schedule for distribution in the states by mid-November.??
The seasonal flu typically peaks in January or February, meaning that all the vaccine should be distributed well before then, health authorities said.
Some doctors are reporting spot shortages of certain vaccine formulations, especially one used in children, said Dr. Susan M. Lett, medical director of the state?s immunization program. In addition to the 880,000 doses purchased by the state for distribution to doctors and clinics, physicians and hospitals independently purchase vaccine.
Knowing that swine flu vaccine was expected to start rolling into medical offices in mid-October, public health authorities had hoped to dispense as many seasonal doses as possible before then. But the urgency of that dimmed a bit when clinical trials surprisingly showed adults may need only a single dose of the swine flu vaccine, instead of two as originally thought.
Now, Auerbach said, people may need only a single visit for vaccination against seasonal and swine flu. In most cases, there?s no reason why someone can?t receive both at the same time.
?That makes it easier for the clients, and it may make it easier for the local health departments as well,?? Auerbach said. ?The same nurse can be doing twice as much work in the same amount of time.??
Stephen Smith can be reached at stsmith@globe.com.
Shipments of vaccine against seasonal influenza are arriving slower than expected in Massachusetts, a delay that is likely to cause some inoculation drives to be postponed.
The state Department of Public Health this week issued an alert to doctors, urging them to hold off on large vaccinationcampaigns at public clinics and schools for about a month. As a result, doctors and nurses may wind up dispensing vaccine against both seasonal flu and the swine strain at the same time.
?Unfortunately, we have recently learned . . . that the scheduled delivery for the remaining doses of seasonal flu vaccine will not be as accelerated as originally anticipated, due to prioritization of [swine flu] vaccine and other challenges,?? the state told doctors.
Massachusetts, one of the biggest government buyers of flu vaccine in the nation, had placed orders for 880,000 seasonal flu doses. So far, the state has distributed close to 400,000 doses to doctors and clinics, and 100,000 more are expected in about a week, said John Auerbach, state commissioner of public health.
Manufacturers expect to produce enough seasonal flu vaccine for ev eryone who wants it - just not as soon as forecast. Health authorities had banked on most of the vaccine being available by the end of this month; now, that?s being pushed back to late October or early November.
In part, it reflects an unexpected scientific challenge. The seasonal vaccine is brewed to thwart three different strains, and one of them - from the ?B?? family - proved especially difficult to work with.
In part, it reflects the frenzy of activity at vaccine manufacturers, which , in addition to making seasonal vaccine, are churning out nearly 200 million doses against the H1N1 virus that causes swine flu.
?Every flu season has challenges, and this one is not without its challenges,?? said Donna Cary, a spokeswoman for the biggest maker of seasonal vaccine, Sanofi Pasteur. ?We thought we had accommodated for that, but in addition to the low yielding ?B? strain, we?re also producing the pandemic vaccine, and producing both in one year limits our flexibility in scheduling shipments.??
After swine flu emerged in the United States in late April, federal disease specialists and pharmaceutical companies embarked on an unprecedented sprint to develop a vaccine to slow the spread of the H1N1 virus. At the same time, companies were asked to expedite their production of seasonal shots so that factory lines would be available for swine flu vaccine.
Shipments of the seasonal vaccine began earlier than ever, and shot kiosks opened earlier than before in drugstores, airports, and neighborhood clinics.
?It may not be on every street corner or in every drugstore at this point, and you might have to make a call to find it,?? said Joe Quimby, a spokesman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. ?But all of the 115 million doses of seasonal influenza vaccine are on schedule for distribution in the states by mid-November.??
The seasonal flu typically peaks in January or February, meaning that all the vaccine should be distributed well before then, health authorities said.
Some doctors are reporting spot shortages of certain vaccine formulations, especially one used in children, said Dr. Susan M. Lett, medical director of the state?s immunization program. In addition to the 880,000 doses purchased by the state for distribution to doctors and clinics, physicians and hospitals independently purchase vaccine.
Knowing that swine flu vaccine was expected to start rolling into medical offices in mid-October, public health authorities had hoped to dispense as many seasonal doses as possible before then. But the urgency of that dimmed a bit when clinical trials surprisingly showed adults may need only a single dose of the swine flu vaccine, instead of two as originally thought.
Now, Auerbach said, people may need only a single visit for vaccination against seasonal and swine flu. In most cases, there?s no reason why someone can?t receive both at the same time.
?That makes it easier for the clients, and it may make it easier for the local health departments as well,?? Auerbach said. ?The same nurse can be doing twice as much work in the same amount of time.??
Stephen Smith can be reached at stsmith@globe.com.
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