CDC Urging People To Get Flu Shots
14th Nov 2006, 18:56 GMT
U.S. health officials said Monday they are worried that an abundance of unused flu vaccine this year may lead to millions of doses being thrown out, discouraging manufacturers from making as much in the future. They are urging Americans to get flu shots even after Thanksgiving -- a time when public demand customarily drops off, even though the flu season typically doesn't peak until February. "We are concerned that we're going to have more doses of flu (vaccine) than we might use," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More than 110 million doses -- a record amount -- are being made for the 2006-07 flu season. The previous record was 95 million in 2002-03. That year 12 million doses went unused and one manufacturer quit making shots. CDC officials said they want to prevent a repeat of that experience and are promoting Nov. 27-Dec. 3 as "National Influenza Vaccination Week." Between 5 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. population gets the flu each year, according to the American Medical Association. The illness leads to about 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations each year, according to federal officials. Flu shots are made by private companies, and both sides of the supply and demand equation for flu vaccine are complicated. CDC officials have tried to increase demand through public health campaigns and by expanding flu shot recommendations to include health care workers, pregnant women and children ages 6 months to 5 years. Today, the CDC's flu shot recommendations cover 218 million of the nation's 300 million people, although only a fraction are expected to get them. The expanded recommendations helped lead to this year's record production. However, even as federal officials urge almost everyone to get vaccinated, many people are unable to find a shot because of chronic distribution problems. About 77 million doses...
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