Pediatricians Seeing Shortage of Flu Shots
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Pediatricians are running out of flu shots like these.
When you open up the fridge at Unionville Pediatrics you’ll see a number of vaccines, but the one missing is the one for this year’s seasonal flu. The office had already given 400 immunizations to children ages 6 months to 18-years-old when they learned there was going to be a shortage of the vaccine.
“We just this week found out there’s going to be hopefully a temporary shortage, but a shortage nonetheless, of season flu so we’ve had to cancel 200 patients this week,” said Dr. Frederick V. O’Connor.
The office is expecting to get more of the vaccine in by November, and Dr. O’Connor says the practice will adjust accordingly. They did start flu shots early this year and were planning to continue giving them out through January.
“We didn’t expect this at all. We had been told there wouldn’t be a shortage this year with seasonal flu; there wouldn’t be any problem,” said Dr. O’Connor.
Parents were surprised to hear that pediatricians are running out of the vaccines so early into October. They want to make sure their children are vaccinated.
“I worry about it because I know there’s a time frame between the seasonal flu vaccine and the one that everybody’s worried about, the H1N1, so I want to make sure they get both of them in a timely fashion,” said Jennifer Legere, a mom of three from Burlington.
Dr. O’Connor says there are community groups who still have a flu shot supply, so children who need the shot immediately can get it. However, children respond to differently to vaccines than their adult counterparts, so it’s recommended to talk to your pediatrician about the best option.
Posted Friday, Oct 2, 2009 - 10:51 PM EST
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