(WebMD) The nation's leading pediatricians' group warned parents on Wednesday that they may have trouble obtaining flu vaccinations for their children in October, despite claims of record vaccine production by manufacturers and federal health officials.

The CDC recommends flu vaccination for all children between 6 months and 5 years of age. But the only vaccine approved for children 3 years of age and under will take longer than expected to get to doctor's offices, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics.

"The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is alerting parents that there will be a delay in getting flu shots for children 6 months of age through age 3 until at least November," a statement from the group says.

Officials said last month they expected 115 million flu vaccine doses to be available for sale for the 2006-2007 flu season, a record production level. About 40 million doses have already been distributed, and 35 million more are expected to move out of vaccine factories by the end of October, says Jeanne Santoli, deputy director of immune services at the CDC.

"We are absolutely not calling this a shortage," Santoli says. "Our tracking system shows that there are pediatric doses going to offices, but providers don't have their full orders."
But some small doctors' offices have complained of short initial supplies while large pharmacy chains and other retailers have already received vaccines.

Potential delays pose a particular concern for pediatricians' offices. Children receiving flu vaccines for the first time are supposed to get two doses about a month apart. That turns a single vaccination appointment into two for those patients.

A spokeswoman for Sanofi Pasteur, which manufactures the pediatric vaccine, known as FluZone, says all doctors who ordered it received "at least some to begin vaccinating."
"If they didn't receive, that's because they agreed to receive late-season doses," says spokeswoman Patty Tomsky.

The company's first vaccine shipments went out on Aug. 23 this year, three weeks later than last year, Tomsky says. "Health care providers were encouraged by CDC to schedule their immunization clinics to coincide with supply," she adds.

The AAP says it is distributing a letter to doctors urging parents to bring their children back for vaccination later in the year.

"The flu season does not usually peak until late December through March, so children will still benefit greatly from receiving the vaccine into December, January and beyond," the statement says.

Flu hospitalizes an average of 200,000 Americans and kills about 30,000 each year.

SOURCES: Statement, American Academy of Pediatrics, Oct. 18, 2006. Jeanne Santoli, deputy director of immune services, CDC. Patty Tomsky, spokeswoman, Sanofi Pasteur.

By Todd Zwillich
Reviewed by Louise Chang, M.D.
Copyright 2006, WebMD Inc. All rights reserved.

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