Frustration Grows As Swine Flu Vaccine Remains Scarce

Add a swine flu shot to your Christmas wish list.

It appears the slower-than-anticipated nationwide distribution of the H1N1 flu vaccine will continue well into the holiday season. Health officials remain unable to say when doses will reach an increasingly frustrated public. The nation's top immunization official even issued an apology Friday for the delay that's led to the cancellation of several local school and health clinic distribution programs.

"I just want to say how sorry I am that people have been so frustrated, that people have had to wait in line, that people haven't always found vaccine at the end of the line," said Anne Schuchat, immunization director at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Federal officials originally said 120 million doses of the swine flu vaccine would be available to the 50 states by late October, aiming to stem a widespread illness not affected by the traditional seasonal flu vaccine. Instead, just 49 million doses have been distributed to state health departments.

Complaints about the delay have been mounting. National lawmakers held hearings last week, pressing for explanations. Schuchat, who was called to testify in Washington, said the new total is 11 million more than a week ago.

"We're not where we want to be, but available vaccine is being quickly ordered and shipped and we are in better shape today than we were a couple weeks ago," she said.

Hillsborough County's supply of vaccine is less than half of what was expected, Health Department spokesman Steve Huard said. As of Friday, the health department and local doctors had received just 160,500 of an expected 354,800 doses of vaccine. Plans are to eventually provide more than 709,000 doses.

"Our ultimate goal is to provide the H1N1 vaccine to all in our community that would like to receive it," Huard said of the voluntary vaccination program.

Swine flu is a predominantly mild virus; most people suffer with a fever, body aches and a sore throat for three to five days. However, it continues to be widespread in 43 states, including Florida, where 167 deaths have been attributed to swine flu, according to the Florida Department of Health. Nationwide it has sickened an estimated 22 million Americans; 98,000 have been hospitalized and 4,000 have died.

Since the vaccine became available last month, Tampa Bay area health officials have focused on getting the vaccine to at-risk people, in particular pregnant women and school-age children. Decisions on vaccine distribution are made at the state and local health department levels.

"As has been seen nationally, we have received less than we anticipated," Polk County Health Department spokesman Daniel Jimenez said. "We built our plan to get the vaccine to the high-priority groups first, and that plan has not changed."

However, even those plans have been unsuccessful. The lack of available vaccines means programs at some Hillsborough and Pinellas County public schools have been revised or postponed until further notice. Local pediatricians and obstetricians have run out of doses, and patients and parents are growing frustrated.

Attempts to focus on the priority groups led Pinellas health officials to stop offering the vaccine at their local clinics.

"We have suspended vaccinations for the public at our centers due to our limited supplies of vaccines," said Maggie Hall, Pinellas County Health Department spokeswoman.

Four of the five drug makers hired to make swine flu vaccines are distributing doses, Schuchat said. The federal government is paying for an estimated 259 million vaccines from the manufacturers and providing them free to the public. Private companies and clinics may charge an administration fee.

Schuchat encourages people who want to get the vaccination to continue to look for information about availability on sources such as www.myflusafety.com. And she said she hopes people will continue to practice the healthy behaviors they've learned since the flu first emerged in April: Wash your hands frequently, cough and sneeze into your sleeve, and stay home if you're sick.

Those rules apply more than ever during the holiday season, she said.

"There's a long flu season ahead; with frequent travel, lots of people coming together, we might see an increase in disease," she said. "And we want everybody to take steps they can to try to prevent that."