The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced last week that, after a two-year shortage, vaccines like these at Watkinsville Pediatrics are now in plentiful supply. Dot Paul/Staff

   Northeast Georgia health officials, used to the delays and shortages of vaccinations, can breathe a little easier now, knowing the vaccines to protect residents against disease will be more readily available.
   The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that the shortages of vaccines are now over, putting an end to two years of consternation surrounding drugs used to treat diseases such as measles and diphtheria, according to the Associated Press.
   The bulletin, sent to doctors, urged them to begin normal vaccine schedules for patients.
   Still, local health officials say the drugs must be delivered, a process that does take time.
   ''The shortage is over as far as the production of the vaccines,'' said Barbie Bushey, immunization coordinator for the Northeast Health District. ''We still don't have those vaccines in our refrigerator to give to patients.''
   The drugs, she said, must move from manufacturer to health agency to local offices.
   During the last two years, immunization officials have suffered through shortages of flu, MMR (measles, mumps, rubella) and DTaP (diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis) vaccines.
   

One of the refrigerators that contains vaccinations at the Athens-Clarke County Health department. Dot Paul/Staff

The cause of the shortages ranged from manufacturing problems, which led to the Food and Drug Administration halting production for a flu vaccine manufacturer, to some companies vacating the industry due to fleeting profits.
   Regardless of the cause, health officials and their patients bear the brunt of the shortages.
   Linda Morris, head of vaccinations for the Athens Neighborhood Health Center, said the shortage of vaccines were a considerable inconvenience. The vaccinations are usually given in five shots at ages 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 15 to 18 months, then again at 4 to 6 years old.
   However, because of the shortage, she said, the CDC asked health officials to delay the fourth and fifth injections until later.
   ''When you ask them to come back again, yes, it's an inconvenience to the parents,'' said Morris. She said the shots were still given, in this case a year later, and did not affect the child being able to start school.
   To prevent a run on DTaP and MMR vaccines, the CDC is not yet recommending that doctors urge parents to bring their children in to make up any shots they missed.
   Parents are supposed to get MMR shots for their children at 12 to 15 months and again at 4 to 6 years. During the shortage, the CDC recommended postponing the second shot.
   

Required immunizations Listed below are requirements for attending facilities and schools in Georgia. Check with a physician or the Clarke County Health Department for more information about when the immunizations must be administered. Doses required, in part, depends upon whether a child is entering school for the first time, or is an older student transferring from another county, state or country. Dtp, Dtap, dt (diphtheria, tetanus and pertussis) vaccine. Hep B (Hepatitis B) vaccine. Polio vaccine. MMR (measles, mumps and rubella) vaccine. Varicella (chicken pox) vaccine. Hib (Haemophilus influenza type B) vaccine.

Also, there are still shortages of some childhood vaccines including those which protect against chicken pox and pneumococcal infection.
   The Northeast Health District administered more than 40,000 vaccinations from Jan. 1, 2001, through Dec. 31, 2001, at health departments in their 10 county area. In Clarke County alone 13,950 injections were given during this period.
   Bushey said the health district was concerned the postponing of vaccinations would lead to a rise in childhood diseases, something that has not come to fruition. ''But that was a big concern,'' she said.
   According to Morris, ANHC immunizes about 50 children per month. She said asking a parent to bring a child back later to get a shot never gets any easier.
   ''It's not something you ever get used to,'' said Morris. Though ''you learn to be accommodating. You learn to deal with it.''
   If you go
Below is information on the Clarke County Health Department's back-to-school immunization clinic.
Monday, July 29-Thursday, Aug. 8. The clinic will be open Mon-Thurs from 9-4 p.m., and 9-1:30 p.m. Friday. The clinic closes from noon-1 p.m. for lunch every day.
The clinic will be held in the auditorium of the health department, located at 345 N. Harris St.
One immunization costs $10, and two or more cost $20. Medicaid and Georgia Peach Care are accepted.
Bring any applicable immunization records.
For more information, call (706) 542-8600.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.