Posted on 10/22/2004 6:29:46 PM PDT by philman_36
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Another 1 million doses of a nasal spray influenza vaccine will be available in the United States this year, Bush administration officials said on Thursday as they sought to calm concerns about a flu shot shortage.
The spray vaccine, called FluMist and made by Gaithersburg, Maryland-based MedImmune Inc., is approved only for healthy people aged 5 to 49. It is not intended for the elderly, very young children and others at high risk of serious flu complications.
The United States will have enough vaccine and antiviral medicines "to cope with this year's flu season, even if it turns out to be a severe season," Health and Human Services (news - web sites) Secretary Tommy Thompson told reporters.
Officials also are negotiating with France and Canada and talking to some European companies in hopes of obtaining any surplus vaccine, Acting Food and Drug Administration (news - web sites) Commissioner Lester Crawford said. Up to 5 million more doses might become available, Crawford said.
President Bush (news - web sites), speaking at a campaign stop in Pennsylvania, acknowledged growing public concern about the shortage and sought to offer reassurance and advice.
"If you're feeling healthy like I'm feeling healthy these days, don't get in line for the flu shot," Bush said, alluding to the long lines that have formed in parts of the country.
Shortages of the flu prevention shots have become a campaign issue for Bush as his Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry (news - web sites), has accused him of not having done enough to ensure sufficient stocks.
A total of 3 million FluMist doses will be available in the U.S. market for the current flu season, along with 58 million flu shots made by France-based Aventis-Pasteur.
U.S. officials had hoped to have 100 million flu vaccine doses available this year, but maker Chiron Corp. lost its license to make the inoculation on Oct. 5. Emeryville, California-based Chiron had been expected to supply the U.S. market with 48 million doses.
Influenza kills about 36,000 Americans in an average year and lands about 200,000 in the hospital.
Thompson urged seniors not to stand in long lines waiting for the vaccine, as that could threaten their health.
Millions of flu vaccine doses have yet to be distributed, he stressed. Aventis-Pasteur is shipping an average of up to 3 million doses each week to health-care providers.
"Just because your doctor does not have the vaccine today does not mean he or she ... (will) not get it" in the coming weeks, Thompson said.
Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards (news - web sites) charged Thompson with spending too much time campaigning for Bush. "It's a problem when the secretary of HHS, instead of dealing with the flu vaccine crisis, is out campaigning in battleground states," Edwards said.
There might be plenty to go around, with 3 million doses of FluMist and 58 million doses of the regular vaccine; except for panicky demand driven by media and government; tort lawyers and government price controls, and government rationing; making it effectively illegal for those of us over 49 (too old for FluMist) and under 65 (too young for the conventional vaccine)to be vaccinated; unless we work on Capital Hill in any capacity, in which case it will be provide free of charge.
You could always take last year's shot, but that would be akin to taking cough medicine for arthritis...???
Scientists make a different vaccine every year because the strains of flu viruses change from year to year. Nine to 10 months before the flu season begins, they prepare a new vaccine made from inactivated (killed) flu viruses. Because the viruses are killed, they cannot cause infections. The vaccine preparation is based on the strains of the flu viruses that are in circulation at the time. It includes those A and B viruses (see section below on types of flu viruses) expected to circulate the following winter.
Sometimes, an unpredicted new strain may appear after the vaccine has been made and distributed to health care providers and clinics. Because of this, even if you do get the flu vaccine, you still may get infected. If you do get infected, however, the disease usually is milder because the vaccine still will give you some protection.
From this link
I agree. Give the older folks their shot. healthy people step aside. Gammy & Gamps have a few more years to share with us.
I agree. Give the older folks their shot. healthy people step aside. Gammy & Gamps have a few more years to share with us.
Thanks for the link and info. I feel more informed now and I learned something new.
here's another link:
http://www.agingwell.state.ny.us/flu/flureview/caqs1.htm#q01
Most years at least one of the influenza virus subtypes changes. The results of this change are viruses and virus combinations against which previous years' vaccine formulas offer little protection. A government agency monitors the flu to identify and to track the most common virus variations. Based on data collected from previous years and on predictions about which virus strains will be most prominent in the coming year, this agency decides what subtypes of killed virus to include in the current influenza vaccine.
FR is great, ain't it!?
Well ---- it's "approved" only for healthy people --- my understanding is that it's a live virus and shouldn't be given to those at risk for getting the flu --- because the live virus is dangerous for them --- but what if the healthy person passes the live virus onto them?
At least in some health care settings, health care workers and others who could expose people on chemotherapy or who are immunosuppressed have been told not to get the nasal spray because they could pass on the live virus to the patients who have little immunity to fight it.
Ya'll get yo shots, ya hear? Then I won't have to git mine...
For what it is worth, our physician told us that anyone over 55 should not take a nasal flu shot. That they are meant for kids.
He especially warned respiratory and cardiac patients that they would actually be putting their health at risk if they took a nasal injection.
Any doctors in the House?
Anyone ever read The Stand (by Steven King)? In that book the deadliest flu ever was created by military scientists in a bio warfare lab(well, it is Steven King after all) but the story of how it overwhelmed the public and wiped out 99% of the population left a lasting impression. As did the very real Spanish Influenza of 1918.
Airborne viruses scare the ____ out of me. They're very hard to control. Unlike AIDS. Hopefully our wonderful benevolent authorities are spending as much $ to solve the former problem as the latter.
Yes, then we can begin to kill babies by the millions and rape them of their stem cells so that we can give 90 yr old decrepit people an extra 3 months to live. The only people that I have ever known that took this crap got the worst flu of their lives from it, so I am in no way convinced that not having an extra 10 million doses saves any lives. I wouldn't take it to begin with even if they were paying to give it away. A little good vomit and day of runs cleans out the system. :-) There are no lines at all down here in Little Rock, it isn't that big of a deal believe me, I could care less personally.
****
Well said and my sentiments exactly. What ever happened to sacrfice for your children, not grow children to sacrifice for you. Sick..its a sick form of cannablism.
No vaccine will stop a super flu. Amazes me the people who will line up to have a virus put in their bodies that chances are they wouldn't have come in contact with anyway.
I think the injected person gets a killed virus which they bill build up antibodies against that then should save them from a live virus but the mist is a live virus which is why it's only approved for the healthy because they can easily fight of the live virus --- mist or wild. I don't see what stops that live mist virus from getting spread around --- or why would they tell healthy health care workers who work with unhealthy patients not to take that vaccine.
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