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ATLANTA - Two months after the government recommended that scarce flu shots be reserved for people most at risk, health officials are now worried that tens of thousands of doses could go to waste, and they are considering easing the restrictions.
The demand for flu shots has turned out to be lower than expected because the flu season has been mild so far. Also, it turns out that more than half of all elderly or chronically ill adults have not even tried to get vaccinated because they figured no shots would be available, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices plans to hold an emergency conference call Friday to discuss whether to amend its earlier response to the vaccine shortage and recommend that more people be allowed to get shots. It is also encouraging providers to return unused vaccines to state health departments for redistribution.
"Many of us are now concerned we will not use vaccine supplies. The only sin this season is to leave vaccine on the shelf," said Dr. William Schaffner, an influenza vaccine expert and head of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., which has a surplus of about 3,000 doses.
In the Tampa Bay area, several doctors' offices and clinics said they have quickly used any flu shots they have received.
"We were supplied with 3,000 doses of flu vaccine on Dec. 3, and we administered all 3,000 on Dec. 3," said Dr. Nathan Keith Waldrep, medical director for six Bayfront Convenient Care Clinics.
In St. Petersburg, Doctor's Urgent Walk In Clinic got two batches of shots, about 180 to 200 total, and used them all in a few days. Office staffers put up a sign outside saying they had flu shots available and saw a steady stream of patients, all in the federal high-risk categories, come in for shots.
"We have a six-page list of people we're going to call as soon as we get the next batch," said nurse practitioner Marie Povey.
Doctor's Walk-In Clinics, which has eight Tampa Bay offices, has gotten 9,000 flu shots - and given out all of them. Workers there are regularly checking with the health department and other sources to try to get more, said Dr. Stephen Dickey, CEO and medical director.
"I think we just have a lot more people in the high-risk groups here in Florida," Dickey said.
The vaccine is only good for the flu season it is made for. Any excess must be disposed of at the end of the season. The flu season begins in the fall and can last through April. It generally peaks in February.
The surplus already has prompted some states to loosen their immunization restrictions, allowing people as young as 50 to get a shot. Others are considering allowing flu shots for anyone who has close contact with those in a high-risk group.
The government in October recommended that healthy adults delay or skip a flu shot this season to save vaccine for the estimated 98-million people in the country who need it most - the elderly, infants or those with chronic conditions. Those people are at highest risk of severe complications or death from the flu, which kills on average 36,000 people and hospitalizes 200,000 each year in the country.
The recommendation was made after health officials learned that nearly half of the country's flu shot supply would be cut off because of contamination at vaccinemaker Chiron Corp.'s plant in Liverpool, England.
Only about 65-million doses of vaccine will be available this season in the United States, including a nasal vaccine that is safe only for healthy people.
Although there were long lines of people seeking flu shots after the nationwide shortages were announced in October, demand has substantially dwindled in recent weeks. One reason is the flu season has been mild so far. New York is the only state with major flu activity, although flu cases are being found all over the country, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC director.
A CDC study found that as of last month, only about 35 percent of high-risk adults, mainly senior citizens, had gotten a flu shot. Another CDC study released Thursday found that people at high risk often do not get vaccinated for various reasons, including a misperception that the shot causes influenza and the belief that it would not be easy for them to get the vaccine.
"We really have to work hard to get rid of it," Vanderbilt's Schaffner said.
Times staff writer Lisa Greene contributed to this report.