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May 17, 2002

"Health Officials Predict Long Wait, Higher Prices for Flu Shot" San Jose Mercury News (www0.mercurycenter.com) (05/14/02); Lyons, Julie Sevrens

San Jose city health officials are anticipating sufficient supplies of the flu vaccine this year, but the as the manufacturing cycle is still somewhat unpredictable, officials are suggesting only those people most at risk obtain the shot early.  Much of the ready supply of vaccines has already been purchased, and physicians are still concerned about having to pay as much as three times the normal price for the vaccine as they did during the past two years because supplies were so limited and slow in forthcoming.  Consumers may have to pay more and wait longer to obtain the shot this year, public health officials warn, as manufacturers have raised their rates by one third. Whether the vaccine will be in short supply again this year will not be known until June, but Aventis Pasteur, the producer of over one half of the flu vaccine supply and one of only three remaining manufacturers, sold out of its supply in March.  Shot prices at clinics and private physician offices may be as high as $20 this year, which many physicians say may deter more people from getting the shot, a very real concern for health officials as complications from influenza kill an average of 20,000 Americans every year and hospitalize at least 200,000 others.

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