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ASK THE DOCTOR: Coping with a shortage of flu vaccine
By DR. JIM MITTERANDO

Ask the Doctor
Flu vaccines are in short supply this year so seniors are being prioritized by need. (Associated Press)

The recent flu vaccine shortage has hit Massachusetts particularly hard, reducing its supply of influenza vaccine by 75 percent. As a result, rationing has led to some tension, confusion and many questions.

The highest-risk groups are currently being targeted for vaccination. These include:

  • Young children ages 6 to 23 months
  • People with chronic illnesses such as lung disease (asthma and emphysema)
  • Adults over 65 years
  • Pregnant women
  • Health care workers who have direct patient contact.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) also lists those who are in contact with infants less than 6 months old, but unfortunately there is not enough vaccine in Massachusetts to treat this group.

The reality is that many senior citizens will not be able to receive the vaccine this year. In my office, we are vaccinating young children, people with select chronic illnesses such as lung disease, pregnant women, and ‘‘sicker'' senior citizens. Any remaining vaccine will be administered to healthier senior citizens. Unfortunately, there is not enough vaccine, at this time, for all eligible people listed above. There may be some additional vaccine trickling into Massachusetts but it will not be a large amount.

We are recommending that most healthy senior citizens try to obtain the flu vaccine in community vaccine programs since physician offices have quite a limited supply (only several hundred vaccines in the average office). Unfortunately, many pharmacies and towns have cancelled their flu clinics due to no available vaccine. One town that is planning a flu clinic only has 400 vaccines. The town nurse is planning police protection to maintain order.

If seniors can not obtain a flu vaccine through the limited, community programs, then they should call their physician. Seniors will be prioritized by need.

Healthy adults will probably not be able to receive the vaccine this year. One option for people ages 5 to 49 who are in a household with an infant less than six months is taking the nasal spray, the live vaccine Flumist. This vaccine is also quite limited and may be difficult to find.

Media coverage has contributed to the anxiety of this shortage and sometimes falsely magnified the risks of influenza.

The risk of death from influenza in healthy children and adults is less than one person in 200,000. The chance of dying from a motor vehicle accident is much greater. The risk of someone over age 65 dying from the flu is about 1 in 1,000.

For further flu developments, check the Massachusetts Department of Public Health web site at www.state.ma.us/dph/ and the CDC at www.cdc.gov.

Dr. Jim Mitterando is a family doctor at Cohasset Family Practice and a staff member at South Shore Hospital in Weymouth.

Readers should send questions to: Ask the Doctor, The Patriot Ledger, P.O. Box 699159, Quincy, MA 02269-9159, or by E-mail to his attention at features@ledger.com.

Questions of general interest will be answered in this column. The information in this column is not intended to diagnose individual conditions, and individual replies are not possible. Readers should see their own doctors about specific problems.

Copyright 2004 The Patriot Ledger