Flu Shots Supply: So Far, So Good
Flu season is under way, and the time to get a flu shot is now.
But will you be able to, if you try to?
Last year, a severe shortage meant many people who sought flu shots couldn't get them.
This, year, the picture is much brighter, reports The Early Show medical correspondent Dr. Emily Senay.
Major shortages aren't predicted or expected.
Manufacturing problems have been fixed at the factory that caused shortages last year, although it will produce less vaccine than previously projected. A new vaccine has also been approved for sale this year. There is also an inhaled vaccine made with live, weakened flu viruses that don't cause the flu, approved for use in healthy people five years to 49-years-old who aren't pregnant.
Until Monday, flu shots were restricted this season to high-risk groups, to make sure there was enough for those people who need them most. But Monday is the day health officials are lifting those restrictions, so everyone who wants a shot can get one.
Now, anyone over six months of age can get a flu shot, and officials are trying to make sure there is enough vaccine on hand so everyone who is a candidate for a shot can get one.
Senay says the
Still, flu season still has a long way to go, all the way into spring.
The best defense is a shot, Senay observes. Ask your doctor whether there's a reason you shouldn't get one, such as an allergy to eggs or other reasons.
Ideally, health officials would like as many people as possible to be vaccinated, because the more people who get a flu shot every year, the less chance that flu will spread widely across the population.
People in high-risk groups need to seek out a shot if they haven't had one yet.
People in such groups who should be vaccinated every year are those 65 and older, people in long-term care facilities, people with existing medical conditions, children between six months and 23 months, pregnant women, and health care workers who come in direct contact with patients. Hurricane Katrina evacuees in shelters are at higher risk because flu can spread easily among people in close quarters.
Recent data shows that a significant number of people over 65, pregnant women, and people with existing medical conditions still aren't getting their flu shots each year.
Flu shots don't protect against all strains of flu. Each year, the shot contains a combination of vaccines for the flu strains expected to be the most active, based on flu activity during the previous season.
It takes about two weeks after vaccination to develop immunity against the flu strains included in the vaccine. October or November is the best time to get vaccinated, but it's still useful to get vaccinated in December and later. Flu season begins as early as October and can last into May.