By LEE BOWMAN Scripps Howard News Service
October 8, 2002

WASHINGTON - Last year, heightened worry over bioterrorism and a shortage of vaccine combined to make flu shots a hot commodity. This year, immunization experts say supplies are at record levels and public health officials are worried more about leftovers than shortages.

Manufacturing and distribution snafus last year created a situation where only about 25 million doses of flu serum had been distributed by the end of September. This year, about 50 million doses have been shipped, said Dr. Walter Orenstein, director of the National Immunization Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. He spoke during a news briefing to promote adult immunization awareness and to introduce a new adult schedule for regular vaccinations.

"The concern is that many doctors and other providers caught by the shortages of the past two years appear to have double- or triple-ordered, and once they get their first delivery, are canceling the other shipments," Orenstein said.

This flu season, 94 million doses are to be produced, with 80 percent of those doses distributed by Nov. 1.

The official advice is to get vaccinated this month if you are elderly, have a medical condition that puts you at high risk or are a child ages 6 to 23 months.

"I'd have to say the urgency of staggering vaccination is a lot less intense this year, given the supply situation," said Dr. William Schaffner, head of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

As part of a larger campaign to boost immunization rates, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona on Monday announced the first national adult immunization schedule devised by the CDC and endorsed by several medical specialty organizations.

The guidelines tell what shots should be given at to healthy adults of various ages, and provide separate schedules for people with various medical conditions.

"We're pretty accustomed to getting our children immunized, but not so with ourselves," Carmona said. "Having these guidelines that tell what we should get and when should make us all healthier."

In general, the only boosters healthy adults 19 to 49 need is a tetanus-diphtheria update every 10 years and a flu shot if you want to avoid a bad case of the flu. The flu shot is recommended when people turn 50.

At the same time, officials are encouraging the elderly and chronically ill to seek vaccination against pneumococcal infection if they have not received the shot before. The vaccine protects against the 23 most common bacterial strains that can cause pneumonia, and move on to deadly blood and brain infections in people with weakened immune systems.

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On the Net

www.nfid.org

www.cdc.gov/nip/recs/ adult-schedule.htm