CHICAGO, Oct. 19 (UPI) -- A 78-year-old man fainted while waiting for a flu shot in suburban Detroit but refused to give up his place in line after he was treated by paramedics.
He was seventh in line for 400 scheduled flu shots and wouldn't move after collapsing. That's how serious seniors around the country are taking this year's shortage of flu vaccine.
The loss of up to 48 million doses at California-based Chiron Corp.'s plant in Liverpool, England, cut the supply of vaccine in the United States nearly by half to around 50 million doses.
Long lines have been fixtures outside pharmacies, supermarkets, drug stores and public health clinics offering flu shots for weeks.
However, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson says it's not necessary for the elderly to wait in line for the hard-to-find vaccine. Thompson said there are still 20 million doses of vaccine to be distributed to those considered at high risk -- seniors older than 65 and patients with chronic diseases or weakened immune systems -- and 4 million doses for young children.
"In particular, we don't want seniors standing in long lines waiting for the vaccine. This is unnecessary and may pose even greater health risks for some seniors than the flu," Thompson said.
He outlined steps the government was taking immediately to deal with the vaccine shortage at a Washington news conference with U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona and top officials from HHS, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security and the Veterans Administration. They will form a task force to deal with the flu-vaccine problem.
"From the moment that we learned about the loss of the Chiron vaccine, we responded swiftly, I want to underscore that, to prioritize vaccine supplies and redirect distribution to the people and the places that need it most," said Thompson.
"We want the public to know that we do have the ability to deal with the coming flu season and help protect the people from the complications of this illness, particularly for those who are the most vulnerable."
The government expects 60 million doses of flu vaccine and FluMist nasal vaccine -- 58 million doses from Aventis Pasture -- eventually to be available. That includes an additional 2.6 million doses from Aventis that will be ready in January.
HHS will direct shipments of approximately 2.5 million to 3 million doses each week for the next seven weeks.
Thompson said millions of people in the United States also could benefit from taking a pneumonia shot, which offers protection for several years, and from stockpiles of anti-viral medicines in supply -- good news for people worried about the flu and good news politically for administration officials under fire from Democrats over the shortage.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sent Thompson a letter Monday warning the vaccine shortage had the makings of a public health disaster. Durbin said the White House was aware last year there were potential quality problems at Chiron.
"It is my understanding that U.S. officials were at (Chiron's Liverpool manufacturing plant) in June 2003 and again in August 2004. I am very interested to learn how your department responded to the 2003 discovery that quality manufacturing standards were not being met and would appreciate your providing specific answers to the following questions," Durbin wrote.
Specifically, Durbin wants to know if U.S. officials believe Chiron took all necessary steps to ensure a safe, plentiful vaccine supply, if not, what was done to rectify the situation, did HHS believe adequate steps had been taken to ensure vaccine supplies and "if not, why were more urgent actions not taken to prompt adequate remedial action, and why where other arrangements not made to fill the likely gap in the U.S. vaccine supply?"
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., accused federal health officials of being asleep at the switch and said she would introduce legislation to allow the United States to buy flu vaccine from Canada.
"They are more interested in tax cuts for the rich than flu shots for everyone who needs them, and we've paid a big price for their negligence," Clinton said at a Manhattan community health clinic.
Others question why the United States relied on just two companies to provide 98 percent of flu vaccine.
Thompson said HHS was in "ongoing negotiations today" with Health Canada to obtain more vaccine. "We need all of us to take a deep breath," he said.
He advised people seeking flu shots to do as the Centers for Disease Control advises: Be patient, but also be persistent.
"Please, if you are not in a priority category, do not get the shot," he said, imploring doctors and clinics not to give the vaccine to individuals not in high-risk groups.
In 2003, 91 percent of the 36,000 flu-related deaths nationwide were among people 65 and older, according to federal health officials.
The Bush administration says it is not to blame for the shortage. Republicans point the finger at Congress for appropriating half the $100 million the CDC asked for to help shift vaccine production from delicate egg propagation to cell-culture technologies.
"Relax, we don't have an epidemic. And we are taking every precaution we possibly can to get the vaccine that's available to the people who need it most," Thompson said Monday at a Republican rally in Bradenton, Fla.
Scattered cases of flu had been reported in seven states as of Oct. 9, but there's no reason to believe flu will be any more severe this year than in recent years. A 44-year-old Minneapolis woman, who was one of the first confirmed cases in the nation, has recovered.
Bloomfield, N.J., is having a lottery for the town's last 300 flu shots.
Forty percent of respondents to a recent Gallup Poll said they planned to get a flu shot this year, while 59 percent said no -- 16 percent because of the shortage and 43 percent for other reasons. The telephone survey of 1,012 adults was conducted Oct. 11-14 and had a 3-point margin of error.
Despite the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome scare and bird flu in Asia, there has not been a flu pandemic since the Hong Kong flu in 1958. The 1918 Spanish flu pandemic killed an estimated 20 million to 40 million people worldwide, including more than 500,000 in the United States.
Last year's flu season hit early but did not worsen during the winter months.
"I know there are some of you who are worried about the flu season. I want to assure them that our government is doing everything possible to help older Americans and children get their shots," President George W. Bush told a Florida rally.
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