Swine flu vaccine deliveries run late With demand far outstripping supply, state cancels clinics

[Commonground]

October 21, 2009

Swine flu vaccine shipments to Massachusetts are running three weeks behind schedule, forcing the state to direct local health departments to cancel vaccine clinics scheduled for next month.

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So far, Massachusetts has distributed 300,000 swine flu doses, less than one-tenth of the total the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has allocated for the state. Those early doses have been reserved for people at the highest risk, including pregnant women and young people, who have accounted for a disproportionate share of both hospitalizations and deaths nationwide from the novel H1N1 virus, which first surfaced in the spring.



Twelve swine flu deaths have been reported in Massachusetts, but only two since July. The federal government calls flu activity - which includes both swine flu and seasonal flu - widespread around the country, but here, doctors have seen a smaller rise in the number of patients coming in with flu-like symptoms this fall.



?Compared to other years in October, we are seeing an increase in influenza-like illnesses, but compared to what other states are seeing right now, we are not seeing the significant uptick they are,?? said state public health spokeswoman Jennifer Manley. ?We do expect the numbers to increase. We don?t think we are immune to H1N1.??


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http://www.boston.com/news/local/ma.../10/21/swine_flu_vaccine_deliveries_run_late/

 

[Commonground]

Re: Swine flu vaccine deliveries run late With demand far outstripping supply, state cancels clinics

(NECN: Alysha Palumbo, Boston, Mass.) - People in several New England states may be forced to wait longer than expected for seasonal and swine flu vaccinations.


The delays come as federal officials issued new warnings about the swine flu's impact on children.


Shipments of the swine flu vaccine to Massachusetts are running about three weeks behind schedule due to nationwide production delays. State health officials said about 700,000 doses of the swine flu vaccine are now expected to arrive by the first week of November.


Due to an increased focus on producing a swine flu vaccine, manufacturers are behind on production of the seasonal flu vaccine.
Several places in Massachusetts and Rhode Island were forced to cancel seasonal flu clinics and postpone H1N1 clinics as a result.
A small amount of swine flu vaccines have made it to New England, but only for the most at-risk individuals -- especially pregnant women and young children.


Swine flu clinics for those who are not the most at-risk are now expected to be pushed back to sometime in December.
Material from The Associated Press used in this report.



video: [vaccine for those with no underlying conditions pushed back to December or January at the earliest....]

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Health/2009/10/21/Mass-swine-flu-vaccine/1256118985.html