IN SOME parts of the US there is now a glut of flu vaccine, despite the fact that the country received far less vaccine than it ordered for the winter.
Surpluses have accumulated because Americans have stayed away from vaccination clinics in droves, confused about whether or not they are eligible and alarmed by media reports of people standing in line for hours only to be turned away.
Now, instead of running out of vaccine while people were still clamouring for it, at least 17 states have so much left that they have dropped restrictions on who can have a jab. 鈥淲e certainly don鈥檛 want vaccine to go unused,鈥� says Julie Gerberding, head of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia. Flu vaccine is only good for the current year as the flu virus changes rapidly, so this year鈥檚 stock will go to waste unless used.
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To avoid repeating this fiasco and to help the US prepare for a possible flu pandemic, some experts suggest there should be no restrictions on who gets a flu shot. 鈥淭hese problems would go away if we just recommended flu vaccination for everyone,鈥� says Arnold Monto, a flu epidemiologist at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. 鈥淭here would be no uncertainties over who would get it.鈥� And with a guarantee of substantial demand each year, vaccine manufacturers would have the confidence to build extra capacity, which will be vital if a flu pandemic breaks out.
The confusion this year over who qualified for a shot was caused by a catastrophic disruption to the vaccine supply early in the season. Demand for yearly flu shots is rising, not least because nearly half of Americans do not get paid sick leave. This year, the US ordered a record 100 million doses, but received only 56 million after contamination problems led to closure of Chiron鈥檚 vaccine plant in Liverpool in the UK, which provides half the US supply (New 杏吧原创, 16 October 2004, p 10).
The CDC responded to the shortage by restricting shots to the most vulnerable: people over 65 and under 2, or with diseases such as asthma. The result was long queues at some clinics as elderly people flocked to get supplies while they lasted. Then came stories of people waiting hours only to be turned away.
A further disincentive is that this year鈥檚 strain of flu has been mild. 鈥淧eople have been unsure of whether they were eligible for a flu shot, or whether they should bother,鈥� Monto says. 鈥淢any haven鈥檛. We thought all the vaccine would be gone by now.鈥�
Though some vaccine is left, the supply is patchy because local healthcare providers handle the purchasing and distribution, leading to some shortfalls locally. The CDC does not have a record of exactly how many doses have been used.
