Manufacturers expect increased influenza vaccine production this year after last year's partial recall because of contamination, and Athens health providers hope to have increased availability this year.
In 2005, Ohio University's Hudson Health Center was unable to offer flu vaccinations for students because of a distribution hold by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which recalled doses because of contamination, said Jacqueline Legg, business manager for Student Health Services.
A major influenza vaccination supplier recalled doses because of contamination, said Charles Hammer, administrator for the Athens City-County Health Department. The department orders about 2,600 doses of the vaccine every year, he added.
This year, vaccine manufacturers expect to produce and distribute more than 100 million doses of influenza vaccines in the U.S. This is at least 17 million more doses of influenza vaccine than has ever been distributed and about 19 million more doses than those distributed last year, according to the CDC.
Hudson Health Center has ordered enough vaccines for faculty, staff and high-risk people and will offer some vaccines to students, Legg said, but added that she did not know exactly how many vaccines the center would get.
Hudson's flu vaccines are unavailable this month because of a shipment problem, but students will receive a general e-mail when vaccines are available, which should be later in November, she said. The shots cost $19 for students and are offered only through scheduled appointments with the immunization office on a first-come, first-serve basis.
Vaccines also will be available during clinics run through the OU College of Medicine at Parks Hall beginning Oct. 31 and continuing every Tuesday in November from 5 to 7:30 p.m.
Hammer said his department has not yet received its shipment of doses for this year from the Ohio Department of Health but expects to receive it within the next 10 days. The county's doses are free but are restricted for use only by high-risk groups, including people 65 years or older and people with chronic health conditions.
Between 5 percent and 20 percent of the U.S. population is infected with influenza each year, and related complications cause about 200,000 hospitalizations and 36,000 deaths per year, the CDC reports.
Medical experts recommend vaccination from October and November through the flu season, which lasts into February or later.
17 Archives
Angie Weaver
