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By Deborah McDermott
dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com
September 24, 2009 2:00 AM
Maine is simply not getting the doses of seasonal flu vaccine it requested in order to keep up with demand given the state's strong recommendation that all schools offer vaccinations to students this fall, said the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control.
"We were getting 5,000 to 8,000 doses a day, then last Thursday it dropped to 1,000 and on Friday, we got 500," said director Dora Anne Mills. "On Monday, we got zero. That's when I was hitting the panic button. And our distributor is telling us they can't guarantee any more doses for another four to six weeks."
The upshot is that the Maine CDC is recommending all school districts that have not yet received their vaccinations postpone the clinics many have set up to take place in the next week to 10 days.
Meanwhile, at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, spokesperson Artealia Gilliard said there is no delay of the seasonal flu vaccine, "and not only that, it's being shipped out faster than typical."
Two neighboring states to Maine are having varying success with receiving their doses, as well. In New Hampshire, said Kris Neilsen, communications director for the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services, "we are not having an issue. This year is no different than any other year," she said. However, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Division of Epidemiology and Immunization reports it is also having problems getting doses in a timely manner and has recommended clinics be canceled.
Mills said she has no idea why the national CDC would say there are no delays, when earlier this week her contacts at the CDC "acknowledged there was a delay. Not a shortage, but a delay. I told them, 'You need to start talking about this nationally, because we're going to have to start cancelling our clinics.'
Mills thinks part of the problem may be that there are not enough doses being made. Gilliard said this year, somewhere between 113 and 118 million doses were made, not atypical for any year. Yet Mills said this is an atypical year. Maine alone requested 400,000 doses, up from 150,000 doses last year, she said.
"If we've asked for more doses, it stands to reason other states have as well," she said.
Gilliard said the CDC ordered the number of doses that were requested by states. "Maybe states didn't order enough. We try to be flexible with demand, and we wouldn't say any state is wrong. Initially there might be glitches and bumps in the road, but ultimately there will be vaccines."
Mills said at this point, school districts that have not received doses should cancel clinics and reschedule them to take place at the same time the districts hold H1N1 (swine) flu clinics. She said children under 10 should have no averse effect from handling both, even though those who have never been immunized for seasonal flu will have to undergo four doses of vaccine. That's because the H1N1 vaccine requires a booster a month later, and a booster's also necessary for children who've never been vaccinated for seasonal flu.
Meanwhile, two local superintendents said they're having differing outcomes with regards to their clinics.
School Administrative District 35 Superintendent Jeff Bearden said his schools have received their doses and are holding clinics on time. Remaining clinics include: Eliot Elementary, today; Great Works School on Friday; Marshwood Middle School, Sept. 29 and 30; and Marshwood High School, Oct. 1 and 2.
York School Department's superintendent, Henry Scipione, said doses have not arrived, and clinics are set for the first full week of October. "But I've not received any notice from the DOE (Department of Education) that says the vaccines won't be available to us," he said.
If by next Wednesday he hasn't heard anything definitive, he'll opt to cancel and reschedule.
"It's a real inconvenience because parents have geared up for this," he said.
dmcdermott@seacoastonline.com
September 24, 2009 2:00 AM
Maine is simply not getting the doses of seasonal flu vaccine it requested in order to keep up with demand given the state's strong recommendation that all schools offer vaccinations to students this fall, said the director of the Maine Center for Disease Control.
"We were getting 5,000 to 8,000 doses a day, then last Thursday it dropped to 1,000 and on Friday, we got 500," said director Dora Anne Mills. "On Monday, we got zero. That's when I was hitting the panic button. And our distributor is telling us they can't guarantee any more doses for another four to six weeks."
The upshot is that the Maine CDC is recommending all school districts that have not yet received their vaccinations postpone the clinics many have set up to take place in the next week to 10 days.
Meanwhile, at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, spokesperson Artealia Gilliard said there is no delay of the seasonal flu vaccine, "and not only that, it's being shipped out faster than typical."
Two neighboring states to Maine are having varying success with receiving their doses, as well. In New Hampshire, said Kris Neilsen, communications director for the N.H. Department of Health and Human Services, "we are not having an issue. This year is no different than any other year," she said. However, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Division of Epidemiology and Immunization reports it is also having problems getting doses in a timely manner and has recommended clinics be canceled.
Mills said she has no idea why the national CDC would say there are no delays, when earlier this week her contacts at the CDC "acknowledged there was a delay. Not a shortage, but a delay. I told them, 'You need to start talking about this nationally, because we're going to have to start cancelling our clinics.'
Mills thinks part of the problem may be that there are not enough doses being made. Gilliard said this year, somewhere between 113 and 118 million doses were made, not atypical for any year. Yet Mills said this is an atypical year. Maine alone requested 400,000 doses, up from 150,000 doses last year, she said.
"If we've asked for more doses, it stands to reason other states have as well," she said.
Gilliard said the CDC ordered the number of doses that were requested by states. "Maybe states didn't order enough. We try to be flexible with demand, and we wouldn't say any state is wrong. Initially there might be glitches and bumps in the road, but ultimately there will be vaccines."
Mills said at this point, school districts that have not received doses should cancel clinics and reschedule them to take place at the same time the districts hold H1N1 (swine) flu clinics. She said children under 10 should have no averse effect from handling both, even though those who have never been immunized for seasonal flu will have to undergo four doses of vaccine. That's because the H1N1 vaccine requires a booster a month later, and a booster's also necessary for children who've never been vaccinated for seasonal flu.
Meanwhile, two local superintendents said they're having differing outcomes with regards to their clinics.
School Administrative District 35 Superintendent Jeff Bearden said his schools have received their doses and are holding clinics on time. Remaining clinics include: Eliot Elementary, today; Great Works School on Friday; Marshwood Middle School, Sept. 29 and 30; and Marshwood High School, Oct. 1 and 2.
York School Department's superintendent, Henry Scipione, said doses have not arrived, and clinics are set for the first full week of October. "But I've not received any notice from the DOE (Department of Education) that says the vaccines won't be available to us," he said.
If by next Wednesday he hasn't heard anything definitive, he'll opt to cancel and reschedule.
"It's a real inconvenience because parents have geared up for this," he said.
