Seasonal flu vaccine shipments to RI delayed, reduced

Rhode Island will be getting less seasonal flu vaccine for adults than originally thought, and the shipment of seasonal flu vaccine for children will be delayed, the state Department of Health said Tuesday.

The department said about 18 percent of the total adult vaccine ordered for the season will not be delivered. GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis have ended shipments of injectable flu vaccine to distributors.

State officials said Sanofi Pasteur, which makes injectable seasonal flu vaccine for children, has delayed its remaining shipments to Rhode Island. Those doses are expected to be delivered in December.

“What we’re seeing is that some of the providers are running out and are going to have cancel some of the clinics. So we’re asking providers to really target the high-risk individuals, the elderly, adults with chronic medical conditions,“ state Health Director David Gifford said.

Gifford said the state has ordered 10,000 additional doses for adults and 14,000 additional doses for children.

Gifford said one reason for the shortage is that manufacturers of the seasonal flu vaccine have had to focus on producing the H1N1 vaccine. He said heightened awareness about swine flu has sparked an increase in demand for the seasonal flu vaccine.

“People are realizing that when H1N1 acts like seasonal flu, that seasonal flu is a serious illness and that they should be getting vaccinated. So we’re seeing an increase demand for that,“ Gifford said.

The Health Department said almost all of the influenza illness occurring in Rhode Island right now is due to H1N1, not to seasonal flu. Gifford said the health department is gearing up for school-based clinics for H1N1 vaccines, which are also coming in slower than expected.

“It continues to frustrate us in the delivery rate,“ Gifford said. “It is coming in dribs and drabs from the feds and every week they continue to revise their numbers down.“

State officials said Rhode Islanders should get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available to them. Nasal spray H1N1 vaccine is currently available for children ages 2-5 in pediatric provider offices.