Scott Co. receives small supply of flu shots

Kay Griffin knows she's sitting on a hot commodity. The women's health nurse practitioner at the Scott County Health Center knows this so well, she's reluctant to say how many flu shots her department has for fear of causing a stampede.

Amid a national shortage, Griffin was surprised recently with a small shipment of the vaccine from one of the three suppliers she had ordered from, although the amount is a pittance compared to the 3,000 doses she had originally ordered. Now, after distributing some of the vaccine to county nursing homes -- which, like so many, had received none -- she and her organization want to be sure the vaccine gets to those who need it most.

"It is absolutely for people at high risk who are residents of Scott County," Griffin said. "We want to distribute it as evenly and fairly as possible."

To do so, Griffin and the Scott County Health Department will hold clinics at three senior citizen centers in the county on Friday. Griffin doesn't know exactly how much will be left after the nursing homes are taken care of, but she is sure that supplies will be limited.

Despite that predicament, Scott County is no doubt the envy of many of its neighbors.

The counties that are really hurting are those that ordered their vaccines from British manufacturer Chiron, which earlier this year had its manufacturing license suspended due to quality-control issues. They were to make more than 46 million doses of vaccine for the United States. Most of those orders will not be filled.

Cape Girardeau County ordered 5,500 doses from Chiron, and none of them came. The county health department did receive a donation of more than 400 doses from Procter & Gamble in Cape Girardeau. Those have been used on the county's essential community workers. Now the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center is left with no vaccine.

The Community Health and Emergency Services serving Alexander and Pulaski counties in Illinois also has an outstanding order of 1,000 doses from Chiron. Purchasing manager Angie Simmons said that by the time vaccines come in, flu season will be over.

Perry County Health Department got half of the 3,000 doses it ordered from the French company Aventis earlier this fall. Most of it was used in a clinic for the elderly held days before reports of the shortage hit the media.

Now Perry County Health is left with no vaccine, just day-to-day reports that they may soon get the other half of their original order. Department administrator Judy Laurentius said she has hope that her order will be fulfilled, but she said she hears a different story every day.

Likewise, Bollinger County Health Center received only half of the 1,800 doses it ordered from Aventis. Administrator Beverly Piepenbrok said that like Cape Girardeau County, Bollinger County implemented its emergency plan, administering shots first to emergency workers and then to those at high risk, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control. That includes children ages 6 to 23 months old, adults 65 and older, people of any age with underlying chronic medical conditions and women who will be pregnant during flu season.

After a clinic for those high-risk people last week, Piepenbrok said, the department has no more vaccines. She said they can now only wait to see if the federal government will send some through the next phase of its reallocation program.

trehagen@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137

SCOTT COUNTY CLINICS ON FRIDAY

Heritage House in Sikeston at 8 a.m.

Illmo Nutrition Center at 8 a.m.

Chaffee Nutrition Center at 10 a.m.

These clinics are only for those considered at high risk according to the guidelines of the CDC, and only for those residing in Scott County. Proof of residence may be required.