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By Linda Bolton
linda@mckenziebanner.com |
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Carroll County, like the rest of the nation, is
experiencing an extreme shortage of influenza vaccine.
Doctor’s offices, health departments, nursing homes,
and hospitals obtain their vaccine from two major
suppliers, Aventis Pasteur and Chiron Corp.
The United States had expected a record 100 million
doses of flu vaccine. But on Tuesday, October 5,
British regulators unexpectedly shut down Chiron Corp.
and suspended their license to produce influenza
vaccine. That held up the 46 million doses, destined
for the United States, at the factory in England where
the vaccine had been made. Manufacturing problems
apparently led to the contamination of a portion of
those doses.
Aventis Pasteur this year will produce 55.4 million
flu shots, one million more than originally estimated,
Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson
said last week.
But Aventis said it is unlikely that it can produce
any more than that before February or March, when flu
season usually is waning. Flu vaccine takes months to
brew, using chicken eggs, an old-fashioned method that
the government hopes to modernize.
One of the areas of major concern is nursing home
patients. None of the nursing homes in McKenzie and
Huntingdon has received flu vaccine as yet this year.
Nursing home staff typically administers the shots
annually to all residents and other members of the
staff as a precaution for influenza and its
complication, pneumonia.
McKenzie Health Care Center Administrator Ron Knox
said he received a memo last week indicating their
source would not be supplying the vaccine this year.
McKenzie Health Care has 99 residents.
Brad Hopkins, Chief Pharmacist with AmPharm Pharmacy
in Parsons, the single largest pharmacy for Tennessee
Health Management, stated the Centers for Disease
Control in Atlanta advised last week they are taking
over distribution of remaining doses of flu vaccine to
insure that it goes to high risk patients. He said
Aventis has been advised not to ship any more of the
vaccine so it can be redistributed.
“We have been put on a waiting list as high priority,”
said Hopkins, who is a resident of Huntingdon. “There
is no timeframe as to when we will receive the
vaccine, but we have until Thanksgiving before we
begin worrying about it.”
Hopkins said AmPharm supplies nursing homes throughout
the state including McKenzie Health Care Center.
A representative of Oak Manor Nursing Home in
McKenzie, which averages 60-62 residents, said they
don’t know when or if that facility will receive the
needed vaccine. The vaccine has placed the order with
a pharmacy in Lexington. Shots are usually given in
October, first to the residents and then staff
members, the representative said.
Huntingdon Health and Rehab Administrator Anthony Mays
said he received an e-mail last week to send in the
number of doses of flu vaccine needed.
“I don’t know if we’ll receive the vaccine,” he said.
The facility has 121 residents; and 110 staff members,
75 of which have opted to take the flu vaccine this
year.
McKenzie Medical Center, located adjacent to McKenzie
Regional Hospital, received one-half of the amount of
flu vaccine ordered and is currently administering
shots. A facility spokeswoman said the medical center
ordered from two suppliers, but received only a
fraction of the doses that had been ordered.
Vicki Foster, office manager for Dr. John Holancin,
who is affiliated with The Jackson Clinic in McKenzie,
said their flu vaccine is scheduled to arrive by
Wednesday. However, flu shots will be limited to their
regular patients. Flu vaccinations will be given
during regular office hours or on Wednesdays, 8 a.m.
until noon, with little or no waiting time.
Dr. Dan Sumrok at Baptist Family Medical Clinic in
McKenzie said his office currently does not have any
flu vaccine and is not sure if he will receive any.
“The big disappointment here is that we spend a lot of
time trying to talk people into taking the flu shot
and then when we don’t receive it, it puts us in a
bind,” said Dr. Sumrok.
“People don’t realize how much it (a major flu
outbreak) impacts the community when people are out of
work and children have to miss school. With the
elderly, pneumonia can be a major complication of
flu.”
Dr. Sumrok put the seriousness of influenza in
perspective when he noted that approximately 50,000
persons in the United States die annually in car
wrecks, while almost 40,000 die from flu and its
complications each year.
“This is a big deal for us really,” Sumrok continued.
“Carroll County has a very large elderly population
and it could be very serious if we have a large
outbreak.”
He noted that influenza usually comes in one of two
strains, Type A, which is the major type that we
typically get, and Type B. He also emphasized that
persons suspecting they have flu should seek immediate
medical attention. If flu is diagnosed in the first 24
hours, treatment is available to lessen the symptoms.
A representative of Huntingdon Medical Associates
Family Practice said they have not received any
vaccine yet, but are receiving at least 30 calls every
day from people urgently requesting the shot.
Other medical facilities that told the Banner they
have no vaccine yet include: Dr. Luis Pagoaga at
Family Medicine Clinic in McKenzie; West Carroll
Medical Clinic in Trezevant; Wilson Medical Center in
Huntingdon, Dr. Jesus Lemus in Huntingdon, and Jackson
Clinic in Huntingdon.
Lynda Lankford, pharmacist at McKenzie Regional
Hospital, said 300 doses of the vaccine had been
ordered, but only 3 vials or 30 doses have been
received to date. Approximately 125 doses are needed
at the local hospital, she said.
“Our corporate office is doing a tally of how many
doses are available within the system, and then the
vaccine will be allocated as needed,” said Lankford. A
system-wide memo had stated that first priority is to
health care workers who provide direct patient care.”
Nina Smothers, pharmacy director at Baptist Memorial
Hospital in Huntingdon said there is some vaccine
available in the whole Baptist system and they have
been promised the vaccine is forthcoming.
“At this point in the Baptist system, the decision has
been to provide the vaccine to high-risk patients and
staff who come in direct contact with patients,” said
Smothers. “As quantities allow, we would move down
from that. No date has been set to give shots, but it
should be very soon.”
Carroll County Health Department is also among those
facilities that had not yet received their vaccine.
The Tennessee Department of Health sent out a news
release to media stating that the Tennessee Department
of Health will limit flu vaccinations at local health
departments to those at highest risk for serious
illness from complications of the flu and is
recommending that other vaccine providers do the same.
Health departments across Tennessee ordered
approximately 200,000 doses of vaccine this year, with
about one-third of that ordered from Chiron. Some of
the vaccine ordered by the state health department
will be redistributed to those health departments that
would otherwise not have vaccine. Most health
department flu clinics dates are yet to be set because
only a small amount of the remaining vaccine has been
delivered to date. Health departments will make local
announcements as flu clinic dates are set. People who
need to be vaccinated should look locally for
available vaccine from private providers or the county
health department and should not delay getting
vaccinated when vaccine is available.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had
began trying to track down exactly where the doses
are, in an effort to help direct vaccine to the
youngest, oldest and sickest people – those who need
it the most.
The CDC could not even estimate last week which
regions would have the greatest shortages. The search
will probably take weeks and will be voluntary.
The CDC recommends that the following groups be
vaccinated this year:
* All adults ages 65 and over
* All children ages 6-23 months
* Children 2-18 who must take aspirin regularly
* People ages 2-64 years with chronic health
conditions (for example, diabetes, heart and lung
disease)
* Pregnant women
* Residents of nursing homes and long term care
facilities
* Caregivers and those who live with an infant ages
less than six months (too young for vaccine)
* Health care workers who provide hands-on patient
care
“Even without a flu shot, there are important steps
you can take to protect yourself and others from the
flu this winter, said Dr. Allen Craig, State
Epidemiologist. “Wash your hands frequently or use an
alcohol-based hand sanitizer, and cover your mouth and
nose when you cough or sneeze. Most importantly, stay
home from work or school if you are sick.”
