You Might Have to Wait for Your Flu Shot
Flu shots might not be available to all who seek them in the next month, the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Wednesday.
Just two weeks ago, CDC officials were crowing over what they anticipated would be a record supply of flu shots, a big change from the shortages and supply problems of the past two flu seasons. But it turns out not all that vaccine is available now, causing spot shortages. Doctors and flu-shot clinics are receiving partial shipments, said Jeanne Santoli, deputy director of CDC's immunization services division; she projects that 75 million of the 115 million doses expected this year will have been shipped by the end of October. "We are absolutely not calling this a shortage," Santoli said. "The most important thing is how many doses will be out there in October and November."
Sanofi Pasteur, the sole manufacturer of FluZone, the vaccine for children ages 6 months to 3 years, had shipped only one third of its anticipated production by mid-October. Production is running three weeks later than last year, but the company says it's on track to deliver its projected supply of 50 million doses by the end of November. That has raised concerns among pediatricians that kids who haven't had a flu shot before won't have time to have the recommended two shots spaced one month apart before flu breaks out. For the first time this year, the CDC recommends that all children ages 6 months to 5 years get a flu shot.
CDC is telling doctors to use the flu vaccine they have, and is encouraging patients to return in November or December if they can't get a shot now. It takes two weeks for a flu shot to become effective. Seasonal flu outbreaks often don't peak until February or later.
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