FLU VACCINE: DEMAND PUTS PINCH ON SUPPLIES

October is the perfect time to get your flu shot. But a shortage of vaccine has forced some health-care providers to reschedule vaccination clinics.

Medicap pharmacies in Cape Girardeau and Chaffee had to reschedule Wednesday vaccination clinics when they learned no vaccine was available.

"Our supplier called and said the people that were furnishing their vaccine had zero," said Ben Tally, owner of the Medicap store in Cape Girardeau.

Tally and Kevin Teegarden, co-owner of the Medicap store in Chaffee, learned Monday that no flu vaccine was available.

The Chaffee store has rescheduled its vaccination clinic for Nov. 4. The Cape Girardeau store is planning vaccination clinics for Oct. 22 and Nov. 5.

The Ripley County Health Department in Doniphan had to reschedule its vaccination clinics because vaccine was unavailable, said administrator Jan Morrow. "Usually we start by the first of October, but we're holding off. We're going to begin this Friday, hopefully," Morrow said.

The Ripley County Health Department usually gives about 2,000 flu shots a years, she said. "That's a lot for a county our size," she said.

There is no shortage of vaccine in Cape Girardeau County, said Charlotte Craig, administrator of the county health department.

"What we did was get on the phone and negotiate," Craig said. "I did everything but crawl through that phone. We finally secured enough doses to have our first two clinics."

Craig said she and her staff expect to have the complete shipment by Oct. 15 and don't anticipate having to reschedule any of the vaccination clinics.

The Cape Girardeau County Health Department administered almost 6,000 flu shots last year, Craig said, and she expects more to be given this year.

Scott County has enough vaccine for its clinics, said Kay Griffin, a nurse at the health department office in Benton. Scott County usually administers about 2,800 flu shots a year, Griffin said.

Rhonda Kremer, a health program representative for the Missouri Health Department, said there will be enough vaccine to go around.

"There's not exactly a shortage," Kremer said. "There's a delay."

One of the two national suppliers of flu vaccine was only able to manufacture about half of its usual supply, she said. The other manufacturer was able to make up for the shortfall.

Influenza outbreaks in Texas, Florida and Alaska prompted the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta to ship vaccine to those states.

"The CDC doesn't anticipate that there will be any shortages," Kremer said. "There has been some delay in getting vaccine here."

The state has received about 60 percent of the 100,000 doses it usually orders, Kremer said, and suppliers have assured them that enough vaccine will be available.

Health department officials say more people are signing up for flu shots every year.

"We've become more preventive health-wise," Morrow said. "I've ordered more vaccine each year, and that's good, I think."

In the last few years, she said, Ripley County health nurses have gone into the county's businesses to immunize employees.

"One of the factories even pays for it," Morrow said. "They feel like it helps them, and that's an incentive for employees. I see that as a real plus."

Craig said the CDC has broadened the guidelines on who should receive flu shots. Originally, the vaccinations were intended for the elderly and the chronically ill, she said.

"Just in the last couple of years, the recommendation has been for the general population," Craig said.

FLU FACTS

Influenza, or the flu, is caused by viruses that affect the respiratory tract. Some symptoms:

-- Fever of 100 to 103 F in adults and higher in children.

-- Cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, headaches, muscle aches and extreme fatigue. Gastrointestinal symptoms may occur, especially in children, but are rare.

-- Most people recover from influenza in one or two weeks, but recovery may take as long as five weeks. Influenza may lead to more serious complications such as pneumonia.

Who needs a flu shot?

-- Any adult who wants to avoid contracting influenza.

-- Adults 65 or older.

-- Children and adults with chronic pulmonary or cardiovascular disease, including children with asthma.

-- Adults or children with chronic metabolic disease such as diabetes, renal dysfunction, blood disorders, or suppressed immune systems because of disease or medication.

-- Children and teen-agers 6 months to 18 years who are receiving aspirin therapy and might be at risk of developing Reyes Syndrome after influenza infection.

-- Women who will be in the second or third trimester of pregnancy during influenza season.