CDC Officials Promise Sufficient Supply Of Flu Vaccine, Urge High-Risk Populations To Get Vaccinated

Main Category: Flu / Cold / SARS
Also Included In: Immune System / Vaccines
Article Date: 24 Sep 2007 - 5:00 PST

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Federal health officials on Wednesday announced a record 132 million doses of influenza vaccine will be available this flu season, but CDC data show that only a fraction of at-risk populations were vaccinated during the 2005-2006 flu season, the AP/Miami Herald reports (Neergaard, AP/Miami Herald, 9/20). At a National Foundation for Infectious Diseases media conference on Wednesday, CDC Director Julie Gerberding said, "We need to rethink the influenza immunization season and encourage vaccination throughout the fall and winter for anyone wishing to be protected," adding, "More doses are expected this year than in previous seasons and there is ample time to be immunized."

According to CDC, during the 2005-2006 flu season, 20% of children between the ages of six months and 23 months were fully vaccinated against the flu, and about 10% of children who needed two doses of the vaccine received both doses. In addition, no state had more than 40% of children fully vaccinated, and all states reported lower immunization rates than the targeted national average of 60% of adults between ages 18 and 64 who exhibited high-risk conditions during the same season. Forty percent of medical care personnel -- another targeted population -- had received the vaccination in 2005-2006, increasing the possibility of infection among health care givers and other patients (Carey, CQ HealthBeat, 9/19).

Health officials called such data "unconscionable." Ardis Hoven, an American Medical Association infectious disease specialist, said, "It is critical that we use all of these doses to protect as many people as possible" (Levine, Washington Post, 9/20).

Health experts believe the 2004 vaccine shortage and calmer flu seasons since then have contributed to people becoming less concerned about the immunization. Jim Farrell, immunization division director at the Virginia Department of Health, said, "I think there are a lot of people who have gotten by one or two flu seasons without getting a shot or couldn't get a shot," adding, "There may be some complacency out there" (Smith, Richmond Times-Dispatch, 9/20).

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