Groups sick of waiting for flu vaccines
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Alex Coolman
NEWPORT-MESA -- Orange County’s flu vaccine shortage is hitting the
Newport-Mesa area hard, with virtually all of the local agencies that
were planning to give shots in the weeks ahead forced to cancel their
offers.
At least four November flu-shot distributions have been canceled in
the area, including ones that were scheduled to take place at the Oasis
Senior Center, the Costa Mesa Senior Center and the Jewish Community
Center.
Hoag Hospital says it has a small supply of the vaccine that it plans
to make available at an upcoming clinic. But Debbie Legan, a spokeswoman
for Hoag, said the hospital is so concerned about being overwhelmed by
people trying to get shots that it’s actually urging the public to stay
away.
“We’re really concerned about the number of people that will show up,”
she said. “A lot of people are going to be disappointed.”
Under ordinary circumstances, the Orange County Health Care Agency
provides about 100,000 doses of flu vaccine to 130 organizations in the
county, said Mary Wright, immunization project coordinator for the
agency.
Typically, those flu shots are distributed in October.
This year, however, the company that supplies the agency had problems
with one of the strains of the virus that is used to create the vaccine.
“The flu vaccine is like anything else,” Wright said. “It’s got a
production schedule.”
But the agency did not realize until recently how far back delivery of
the vaccine would be pushed, she added.
“We guessed wrong,” she said. “We thought Nov. 1 would be safe [as an
estimated date for delivery].”
Rather than continuing to postpone clinics, the agency opted to cancel
its earliest shipments throughout the county. It’s an approach, Wright
admits, that may seem “somewhat drastic.” But she argues that it’s a step
preferable to creating confusion through constant rescheduling of vaccine
distribution.
It is likely, the agency says, that shot clinics will now be
rescheduled for some time in late November. And rather than staging the
disbursements throughout the county, the agency will probably hold them
in four or five centralized locations.
That’s frustrating for agencies like the Costa Mesa Senior Center,
which has a health expo where flu immunizations were scheduled for
Tuesday.
The center will go ahead with the expo, said Jeanne Beach, a
receptionist with the center. But the lack of vaccine means a centerpiece
of the expo is missing.
“About 2,000 people attend the health expo,” Beach said. “There’s a
real high percentage that just come for flu or pneumonia
[immunizations].”
The center still plans to offer pneumonia shots, along with hearing
evaluations, vision screenings and other services.
At the Oasis Senior Center, Gwen Collins, president of the Friends of
Oasis nonprofit group, said a Nov. 17 shot clinic has been canceled
altogether.
“This really is a ridiculous situation,” Collins said.
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