Delay likely in flu vaccine availability
ACIP recommends large campaigns for November
Anyone planning a large-scale influenza immunization campaign for the fall should consider waiting until early to mid-November due to possible shortages of the vaccine, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) stated.
ACIP, an expert panel that issues national immunization recommendations, decided to act early to avoid any possible problems this fall, says Carolyn Buxton Bridges, MD, a medical epidemiologist in the influenza branch of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"The amount of vaccine that’s going to be available is really not clear at this time," says Bridges, adding that it is "fairly certain" that "there is going to be some delay in release and distribution of the vaccine."
One of the new components of the vaccine, the A(H3N2) strain, proved difficult to grow. "Sometimes it’s difficult to predict how well these new viruses are going to grow and how much product you’re going to get out of them," she says. "That can delay things."
Vaccinating health care workers remains one of the top national immunization priorities, Bridges notes. The ACIP announcement was timed to provide plenty of notice so hospitals and other employers or community organizations could plan successful campaigns, she says.
"You want to bolster flu vaccine campaigns as much as possible," she says. "You’re not going to do any favors to your program if you have people lined up with their shirt sleeves rolled up and you don’t have any vaccine."
If there is a shortage of vaccine, ACIP and the CDC may recommend that high-risk patients receive priority along with health care workers.
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