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Flu vaccine doses are all spoken for until 2010

Saturday, November 14, 2009

(Updated 7:15 am)

By J. Brian Ewing
Staff Writer

The Guilford County Health Department’s Greensboro office said Friday it will not make new appointments for flu vaccinations for the rest of the year.

Health officials said that after commitments already on the books and a public clinic scheduled for Dec. 5, they will have no more available doses.

Instead, officials recommend that individuals looking for the H1N1 or seasonal flu vaccine contact the health department’s High Point office or attend the Dec. 5 clinic.

Lynne Beck, a spokeswoman for the health department, said all the vaccine in Greensboro is spoken for through the end of the year.

Beck was not sure how much vaccine would be available on Dec. 5. Nor was she sure how many more people the High Point office could serve.

The health department isn’t taking appointments for January, Beck said, because it is unclear how much of the vaccine will be available.

The Dec. 5 clinic will offer the H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine as well as the seasonal flu vaccine.

The H1N1 vaccine will be provided to these groups:

children 6 months to 24 years old;
pregnant women;
caretakers and household contacts of children age 6 months and younger;
health care workers and emergency medical services personnel; and
adults ages 25-64 with underlying health issues.

The seasonal flu vaccine will be available for children ages 4 to 18 years old.

No appointment is needed for the clinic. The vaccines will be available on a first-come, first-served basis. Individuals should bring their insurance card or Medicaid card if they have one.

Demand for the H1N1 vaccine has far outstripped the supply, both locally and across the nation.

Vaccine manufacturers and federal officials had originally said plenty of supply would be available this fall, but dosages have fallen short of demand.

At a public clinic last weekend at GTCC, health officials inoculated about 1,800 people.

Contact J. Brian Ewing at 373-7351 or brian.ewing@news-record.com

Accompanying Photos

Joseph Rodriguez (News & Record)

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Doug Johnson

November 14, 2009 - 4:38 am EST

However, Obama had plenty to send to third world nations!

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newkid

November 15, 2009 - 11:28 am EST

"The reasons why vaccine is in short supply in the United States right now has nothing to do with the promise to donate vaccine supplies to WHO for use in developing countries. In fact, the problems experienced with inadequate vaccine supplies are likely to delay and cause other problems for the donation promises made, meaning that people in developing countries will have any limited access they might have had under the donations limited even more. "

David P. Fidler, professor at Indiana University and a leading expert on global health and international law

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kurgun

November 14, 2009 - 7:33 am EST

population control, form a nice orderly line.

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Lakeshia

November 14, 2009 - 7:56 am EST

And some folks want the gubmint to be in charge of health care ???

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batshalom

November 14, 2009 - 8:49 am EST

Offering 10% of the h1n1 vaccine supply in conjunction with other developed nations offering theirs is both prosocial (i.e., the right thing to do) and a good measure of keeping the strain in check. If h1n1 spreads to countries that don't have the vaccine it could mutate much more quickly and leave us scrambling for new vaccines, which would start new conspiracy theories and new complaints ad infinitum, not to mention cause more deaths worldwide (not just in the countries that don't have this original round of vaccines).

Second, this has nothing to do with government-run healthcare. It is an attractive assumption but ultimately faulty. There are only so many doses of vaccine that can be produced at one time, and demand for a flu vaccine is outstripping supply. The virus for the killed vaccine shots and for the weakened vaccine mist can only be produced so quickly. They aren't withholding, they aren't giving it all away. It's like growing a crop - one can only yield X amount of product in X amount of time, even with advanced technology. (And don't you suppose the vaccine makes WANT to make more of it? There is all kinds of money to be had, and not just any money: government money. The vaccines are free to the public.)

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jstevenh1952

November 14, 2009 - 4:45 pm EST

You keep telling yourself this, and pretty soon it will all seem so real.

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laserguidedloogie

November 14, 2009 - 11:50 am EST

Oh no! Now we we all Surely Die! Our precious vaccines are gone!

Oh wait, never mind, I forgot, there is no "pandemic." Only something called "ILI" (which includes flu) that to date has killed about 1/6 -1/5 of the people who typically die during the normal flu season. Whew! That's a relief.

By the way, I wonder what would happen if we had a REAL press in America (instead of glorified press release services) that actually INVESTIGATED news? That would be interesting huh? They might, for example, ask why the government hype machine hasn't lived up to its billing, or why government propaganda doesn't even agree with itself.

Oh well, we can always hope I suppose. Besides, I know the government lackeys all have to look out for each other.

Ken
http://www.LaserGuidedLoogie.com

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holland4

November 14, 2009 - 1:55 pm EST

Remember how it was "all Bush's fault" when the seasonal flu vaccines were delayed several years ago? This year, The Chosen One is blameless.

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theroadrunner

November 14, 2009 - 10:29 pm EST

Who (that's not in college, looking for birth control or cream for their itch) even goes to the Health Department?!? Isn't that what the Family Practice is for. They must not have health insurance. We need to pool our funds and get these people an option so that they can get affordable health insurance and go where ever they want to get their vaccinations. Who's with me!

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incredible

November 14, 2009 - 10:34 pm EST

The Health Department offers vaccines for those of us going on mission trips as well as those who travel internationally. They also have routine immunizations for children, TB skin tests, a program that offers mammograms and Pap smears for older women, care for pregnant women, and lots of other services. I'm glad we have them here to help us---even if we only use them once a year for our own needs!

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northoftheboro

November 15, 2009 - 5:45 am EST

First, Islamic terrorists at Gitmo getting the H1N1 vaccine before most American citizens (who the terrorists have vowed to kill in their Jihad, by the way), and now rationing of the shots until 2010. Thank you, Mr. Obama, for placing the needs of our sworn enemies ahead of the needs of your own people and thanks for giving us an indication of life under the government-run health care umbrella. Change we can believe in, alright!