TALLAHASSEE - About 440,000 new doses of flu vaccine are being shipped to Florida from manufacturer Aventis Pasteur, the state said Friday.
By the end of the weekend most should be distributed to county health officials and private suppliers of the vaccine, said Florida Health Secretary Dr. John Agwunobi.
Some counties will distribute the vaccine primarily through health clinics; others will use private providers, Agwunobi said.
Earlier this month 48-million doses of vaccine, about half the anticipated U.S. supply, were unexpectedly withdrawn from the market because of bacterial contamination. The state had since received 50,000 doses from Aventis.
Agwunobi also said the state is in the process of acquiring antiviral drugs that are different from flu vaccine but also can be used to treat and prevent the disease.
Doctors have been told to vaccinate only high-risk people, including infants, the elderly, people with weakened immune systems and those in nursing homes.
