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CDC: Plenty of flu vaccine to go around
There should be no shortage of seasonal flu vaccine this winter, according to the CDC, which is urging anyone wanting protection from the flu to get immunized. The CDC says that because a significant amount of vaccine would be available as of late October, no prioritization of vaccine is needed.
The National Foundation for Infectious Diseases reports that even though manufacturers expect to deliver more than 100 million doses of flu vaccine in the United States this season, fewer than half of consumers planned to be immunized.
Annual vaccination is recommended for anyone 50 or older; children 6 months to 5 years; anyone with chronic health conditions; health care professionals; and anyone in close contact with people at high risk for flu complications, according to the CDC. The flu vaccination rate for seniors declined to 65.5% in 2005 due to the fall vaccine shortage, well below the national goal of 90%, CDC data show.
According to Lance Rodewald, MD, director of CDC's Immunization Services Division, the CDC has been working with influenza vaccine manufacturers and distributors to monitor this season's influenza vaccine supply and the timing of its distribution. In addition, the FDA has successfully worked with the vaccine manufacturers to increase both the supply and its diversity and to facilitate early availability.
"When and how much vaccine each health care provider or clinic receives depends on who they ordered from and when they ordered," says Rodewald. "There are many manufacturers and distributors, each of which has different distribution plans and schedules. We expect that some health care providers and clinics may get or have more influenza vaccine than others in the first month or so, but people will have plenty of opportunities to be vaccinated during October and November, as well as December or later."
Based on discussions with influenza vaccine manufacturers and the FDA, the CDC estimates more than 110-115 million doses of influenza vaccine will be produced for the United States this year. This is 17 million more doses than ever distributed in any previous season. Furthermore, 75 million doses were expected to be distributed by October 31.
While the best time for vaccination is October and November before the influenza season typically begins, vaccination can still provide protection in December and later because during most years influenza does not peak until February or later. Since influenza is unpredictable, and different types and strains of influenza circulate throughout the flu season, the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that influenza vaccine be offered throughout the influenza season — even after influenza has appeared or begun appearing in a community.
The viruses in the 2006-07 influenza vaccine are:
- an A/New Caledonia/20/99 (H1N1)-like virus;
- an A/Wisconsin/67/2005 (H3N2)-like virus (A/Wisconsin/67/2005 and A/Hiroshima/52/2005 strains);
- a B/Malaysia/2506/2004-like virus (B/Malaysia/2506/2004 and B/Ohio/1/2005 strains).
(The CDC's recommendations on flu vaccination are available at www.cdc.gov/flu/professionals/flubulletin.htm.)
9/11 workers and volunteers: Register for benefits
A new law makes most people who performed rescue, recovery, or cleanup work after the collapse of the World Trade Center in 2001 eligible to register with the New York State Workers' Compensation Board. Anyone who registers and later develops a 9/11-related illness will be eligible to file a workers' compensation claim, but occupational health advocates warn that failure to register by Aug. 14, 2007 makes workers ineligible even if they develop a 9/11-related illness.
The importance of the registry was indicated earlier this year, when doctors at New York's Mt. Sinai School of Medicine published a study showing that more than 70% of 9,500 post-9/11 workers and volunteers who had been examined had developed potentially serious respiratory illness. According to the New York Committee for Occupational Safety and Health (NYCOSH), many workers and volunteers have been prevented from getting compensation because they only began to become sick after the two-year deadline for filing a claim. Others exposed to the toxic atmosphere in Lower Manhattan who are healthy now but may develop a 9/11-related disease in the future would have been barred from receiving benefits under the old rules.
The law applies to most people who did paid or unpaid rescue, recovery or cleanup work in Lower Manhattan south of Canal or Pike Streets between Sept. 11, 2001 and Sept. 12, 2002. It also applies to those who worked at the Staten Island landfill, the barge operation between Manhattan and Staten Island, or the New York City morgue. Workers and volunteers are eligible regardless of whether or not they reside in the state of New York. Anyone who filed a claim for 9/11-related workers' compensation and was turned down because the claim was filed after the two-year filing deadline is now eligible to register and file a new claim. For information about the registry, visit www.nycosh.org or call NYCOSH at (212) 227-6440.
There should be no shortage of seasonal flu vaccine this winter, according to the CDC, which is urging anyone wanting protection from the flu to get immunized.Subscribe Now for Access
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