More doses of flu vaccine on way

Eric Leake

Wednesday, Nov. 24, 2004 | 11:02 a.m.

A new shipment of flu vaccines to the county won't cure the shortage but will help alleviate an acute need, officials said Tuesday.

Over the next few months, the state will receive a wave of more than 80,000 vaccinations. The bulk of the doses will be available for purchase by health care providers.

The state will receive 45,008 doses through December and will get 25,349 doses in January. Another 12,348 doses will be set aside for children.

State Health Officer Dr. Bradford Lee said he was hopeful the new shipments would help Nevadans who are at "the greatest risk of developing serious complications from influenza."

"Given the current demand it should be enough," Lee said.

The Clark County Health District will receive 10,000 doses and will hold flu vaccine clinics starting Tuesday.

"It's certainly good news that we've been able to get additional vaccines, though it's not where we would have liked to have been," district spokesman David Tonelli said. "We're in a less than ideal situation this year."

Tonelli said the new shipment puts the district's season total for vaccines at about half of the 35,000 it had originally ordered.

The vaccines will be administered only to at-risk adults at the Ravenholt Public Health Center at 625 Shadow Lane, near Charleston Boulevard west of Interstate 15, from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. -- while supplies last.

Because of the limited supplies, the vaccines will go first to those most in need, including people older than 65, those with chronic medical conditions and pregnant women. Medicare, Medicaid, Secure Horizons and Senior Dimensions are accepted. The cost of the shots for those without insurance cards is $20.

While the flu may inconvenience a healthy person, for someone with high risk of complications it may lead even to death, Tonelli said.

No instances of flu have yet been detected in Clark County, and the only instances in the state were two late last month in Washoe County.

"We're getting the vaccine a little later this year, but because we haven't seen any flu activity there is time," Tonelli said.

He said flu cases typically appear in the valley around the Christmas holidays and peak in January, though every season is different. A vaccine generally takes two weeks to build an immunity, he said.

Tonelli added that aside from the 10,000 new doses, the county is also providing some vaccines to care facilities, such as cancer and dialysis centers, where patients are physically unable to travel to the health center.

Though he feels fine, David DeVoss is 71 years old, putting him in the at-risk category.

"I'm in relatively good health and I work part time," said DeVoss, who is in marketing. "Basically, I feel that you can't be too cautious."

DeVoss has been trying to get a flu vaccine since supplies became scare more than a month ago. He plans to be in line the first day vaccines are available.

"I hope that in a city of this size 10,000 (doses) will be enough," he said.

DeVoss hopes precautions will be taken by the government to avoid a similar vaccine shortage next year.

"They really need to plan it so that they have a backup system," he said. "It really could be something of a calamity if they didn't have a solution."

The county's additional vaccines were obtained through the State Health Division as part of 45,008 adult doses and 12,349 child doses allocated to the state by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Annie Uccelli, a spokeswoman with the division, was optimistic because of the additional vaccines as the state enters the flu season.

"We're quite fortunate. Flu is not widespread here. We're still at the tip of the season and things look great," she said.

She attributed part of that outlook to preventive measures people have taken on their own, such as washing their hands and staying home if they don't feel well.

Uccelli said another 25,543 vaccines are expected to be delivered to Nevada in January, seeing the state through to the end of the flu season, typically in February or March.

Tonelli does not expect the 10,000 new doses to last much beyond a week, though he said it is hard to gauge demand.

In case of high demand, the Ravenholt Public Health Center will dedicate much of its operations to running the flu clinic, Tonelli said. He said the health district has been getting calls for the vaccine daily.

The district asks that patients bring proof of their high-risk status, such as a doctor's note, doctor's contact information, or a prescription.

For more information, call the district's flu information line at 383-INFO (4636).