Flu shots now for high risk persons only

[bananaface]

Yes, it happened.

See the news release

The CDC decided today that since the UK pulled Chiron's license to manufacture its flu vaccine (shot), it would shift to vaccinating only high risk persons until it can assess the situation and ensure that the vaccine supply will be adequate. Chiron had some contamination issues earlier this year and delayed shipping its vaccine. No Chiron vaccine was ever shipped for public distribution. This vaccine was to constitute roughly half of the US supply this season.

The Aventis vaccine (shot) and FluMist will still be available.

The CDC notes that they are hoping to get enough vaccine on the market by late October to allow the general public to pursue immunizations. However, the situation has yet to be fully assessed, so nothing is certain.

Per the CDC website, priority groups are:
"
*all children aged 6?23 months;
*adults aged 65 years and older;
*persons aged 2?64 years with underlying chronic medical conditions;
*all women who will be pregnant during the influenza season;
*residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities;
*children aged 6 months?18 years on chronic aspirin therapy;
*health-care workers involved in direct patient care; and
*out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children aged <6 months. "

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[ultracet]

I also saw on the news they were going to look into diluting the current vaccine to get 2 doses out of 1 shot.

 

[pinkyrx]

Thanks for posting the details on this! I saw a quick bit of it on the news yesterday and was wondering how it was going to unfold.

 

[ultracet]

i just heard that they are currently testing the half doses, i mentioned above, to see if they are effective against the flu.

if i can't get a shot then flumist here i come!

 

[bananaface]

No problem. I was surprised that I didn't get "scooped" since the announcement came out midday yesterday.

BTW the "shedding" thing with FluMist is not really documented. The CDC can't even find its own source on that. You get a heck of alot better protection with FluMist too.

 

[Glycerin]

You get a heck of alot better protection with FluMist too.

Yeah, but those of us at hospitals aren't supposed to take FluMist because it is a live vaccine. But that's okay. I don't mind getting shots.

 

[ultracet]

Yeah, but those of us at hospitals aren't supposed to take FluMist because it is a live vaccine. But that's okay. I don't mind getting shots.

the CDC includes health care workers in the flumist category

 

[bananaface]

Yeah, but those of us at hospitals aren't supposed to take FluMist because it is a live vaccine. But that's okay. I don't mind getting shots.

They would make you get MMR (a live vaccine) if you didn't have immunity.

The reason many employers said in years past that healthcare employees could not use Flu Mist is that the CDC put out some bad information on the risk of viral shedding in healthcare workers. They revised the vaccine information sheet for the intranasal vaccine, but stopped short of actually recanting their initial assertion that healthcare workers would endanger their patients by getting the vaccine. In reality, the chance of the virus seroconverting in an individual's body and them becoming infective is WAY lower than the chance that they would naturally acquire the virus and become infective. Even if seroconversion occurred, the virus would probably be less virulent than the wild stains that one would likely pick up if not immunized. I would hope that employers will change their minds and stop prohibiting healthcare workers from using Flu Mist.

 

[Glycerin]

I would hope that employers will change their minds and stop prohibiting healthcare workers from using Flu Mist.

This is why I posted what I did. We were informed last week not to get the live vaccine.

 

[ultracet]

Our Director of Pharmacy was looking to order the flumist vaccines...
Per CDC guidelines..

i suppose it just depends on where you are!

 

[r_salis]

As students, do we qualify for the vaccine?

 

[bananaface]

If you have an internship or participate in some type of patient care through school, then you are a healthcare worker and would qualify.