Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Area clinics ration rare flu vaccine


Dr. Kim Thorburn, chief health officer of the Spokane Regional Health District, checks the supply of flu vaccine on Thursday. 
 (Christopher Anderson/ / The Spokesman-Review)

Due to a nationwide shortage, the Spokane Regional Health District has received only half the flu vaccine it requested and will distribute its remaining 2,000 doses by appointment only, the district’s health officer said Thursday.

The Panhandle Health District also has a limited supply of the vaccine, most of which will be distributed at four North Idaho clinics today, a district spokeswoman said.

Both districts will be limiting vaccinations to those at highest risk of dying from influenza.

“There’s not enough for everyone,” said Dr. Kim Thorburn, health officer for the Spokane Regional Health District, which will begin offering shots next week.

North Idaho is in much the same situation as Spokane.

The Panhandle Health District is conducting flu clinics beginning at 9 a.m. today and expects to dispense most of the vaccine it has on hand, district spokeswoman Debra Burke said. A clinic in Shoshone County distributed all of its remaining 120 doses in an hour and a half on Thursday. Kootenai County has 1,000 doses left. Bonner County has 580. Boundary and Benewah counties have 150 doses each, she said.

“We are targeting the highest risk groups,” Burke said, and RNs will be interviewing those waiting in line for shots.

Today’s clinics are at the health district offices in Coeur d’Alene, Bonners Ferry and St. Maries, and the Bonner Mall in Sandpoint. Flu shots for children will be scheduled by appointment.

There is not even enough for everybody the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends should have the shots. Thorburn said the district recently received 2,000 doses, after distributing 2,000 doses it received earlier.

The district is not expecting any more vaccine, at least in the near term.

Based on past years, the district had ordered 8,000 doses, she said. Last fall, because of an early influenza outbreak that resulted in the deaths of some children nationwide, the district vaccinated 11,000 people clamoring for the shots.

“Right now, we have no influenza confirmed in Spokane or Washington,” Thorburn said.

Flu does not typically appear until late November and peaks in late December or early January.

On Monday and Tuesday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the district will take appointments by telephone from people most at risk. Only two appointments will be scheduled per phone call. Callers desiring a flu shot will be asked their dates of birth and medical conditions to determine their eligibility. Those seeking a flu shot may call the health district at 232-1705 from Spokane or (866) 800-4950 from outside the city.

Beginning Wednesday, the district expects to begin vaccinating by appointment 100 to 250 people a day until the vaccine runs out. The clinics will be at the district offices, 1101 W. College Ave. in Spokane.

“We were concerned when we ran clinics that we had a lot of long lines for long periods of time,” Thorburn said.

She said the appointment system has been used by Western Washington cities without jamming phone lines.

Thorburn offered more detail than the district has in the past about who will be given the vaccine. The health district will be targeting pregnant women, people age 65 and older, children 6 to 23 months old and people with chronic conditions such as diabetes, asthma or kidney disease. People with severe heart disease are eligible, but not those with stable heart valve disease, she said. Cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy are eligible, but not stable cancer patients.

Though the CDC recommends flu shots for some others, including health care providers, Thorburn said there is just not enough vaccine. Typically, only 50 percent of those at high risk from influenza actually seek a flu shot, the health officer said, but media attention this year may drive that number up.

Earlier this month, Britain suspended the license of Chiron Vaccines, one of only two companies licensed to manufacture flu shots for the United States, because of bacterial contamination. None of Chiron’s vaccine made it to the United States, but the company was scheduled to ship 48 million doses, nearly half the U.S. supply. The other manufacturer, Aventis Pasteur, which supplies the United States with 54 million doses, cannot make up the shortfall.

Earlier this week, Aventis Pasteur announced it could produce an additional 2.6 million doses, but not until January.

That has left the United States scrambling to scrounge surplus supplies of vaccine from other countries, including Canada, where some Americans already have been flocking to get their shots.

In Spokane, business or health providers may have additional doses, but Thorburn does not believe there are many left.

She said the Spokane Regional Health District is negotiating with a local business person who has received some doses but she declined to disclose how many or who has them.

As for hopes that the federal government may distribute more, she said, “We could get some more, but it’s not in our hands.”

Flu mist is an alternative but there are only 2 million doses nationwide for people from age 5 to 49 and it is not recommended for high risk patients. Antiviral drugs may relieve symptoms of flu.

The CDC reports that up to 20 percent of Americans come down with the flu and 36,000 die each year.

Thorburn offered this advice to prevent the spread of influenza:

Stay home if you are sick.

Cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough, and use a tissue.

Wash your hands or use antibacterial wipes.

“It’s everyone’s responsibility to try to protect the community once influenza arrives,” she said.