Upper valley short of seasonal and swine flu vaccines

As five vaccine manufacturers scramble to meet the nationwide, demands for H1N1 vaccines and the seasonal flu vaccine, local public health centers experience a shortage of both vaccinations.

Mat-Su Public Health nurse manager Jane Conard says that the Mat-Su Public Health Center only received 520 doses of the swine flu vaccine – meant only for two to four-year old, healthy children.

Five different manufactures in the lower 48 produce different swine flu vaccines meant for the various target groups, for example, pregnant women, seniors or young children. Conard said it is unknown to her, when and what kind of vaccine is going to arrive next.

The scramble to get the different swine flu vaccinations and seasonal flu vaccinations out across the nation shortchanged the Mat-Su Public Health Center as they received less than three-hundred doses of the seasonal flu vaccine. Conard said, normally, Mat-Su would receive between two-thousand and three-thousand seasonal flu vaccinations.

Left guessing when and what vaccine will arrive next, Conard strongly encourages people to go to their private providers to get their seasonal flu vaccine.

In Talkeetna, Sunshine Community Health Center executive director Sharon Montagnino said that the clinic does have a limited supply of seasonal flu vaccine but no swine flu vaccine yet. She said a few seasonal flu doses are left to make sure that the at-risk population such as seniors, children and chronically ill people are taken care of.