OHIO Healthy? Skip flu shot

There are precautions you may take to avoid the flu.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- The state is asking healthy Ohioans to take a pass on flu shots this year because of a shortage that cut the United States vaccine supply in half.
The state is also asking doctors in private practice to give their supplies of vaccine only to those at highest risk of getting the flu.
"We are asking them to defer vaccination this year so we can stretch the available vaccine to go to only those at the highest risk for influenza and its associated conditions," department spokesman Kristopher Weiss said today.
The state buys its supply of vaccines from a company other than the British firm that had its license suspended because of manufacturing problems.
But those vaccines go to health departments and a federal program serving poor children and are meant only for high-risk individuals, including the elderly and people with chronic health conditions. Public health flu shots represent only 10 percent to 20 percent of vaccinations, Weiss said.
British regulators suspended the license of the Chiron Corp., maker of the Fluvirin vaccine, because of manufacturing problems at its Liverpool, England, plant.
The state buys about 270,000 doses from Aventis Pasteur and provides them to local health departments.
Those shots are meant for people 65 and older, very young children, pregnant women, people who suffer from diseases like asthma and diabetes, and health care workers who have direct contact with patients, Weiss said.
It buys another 100,000 doses for a federal program that serves poor children, children with little or no health insurance and American Indian children.
Here are precautions
Weiss said the state is also urging people to take other measures to ward off the flu, including frequent and thorough hand washing, eating well and getting enough rest and exercise.
People should also cover their mouths when sneezing or coughing, stay home from work if sick and take sick children out of day care or school, Weiss said.
Chiron's problem began in August, when it discovered contamination in a small amount of vaccine that delayed its U.S. shipments.
Still, top U.S. health officials assured the public less than two weeks ago that close monitoring showed the rest of Chiron's supply was fine, and plenty of vaccine would be available.
Tuesday, British regulators disagreed and suspended Chiron's license for three months, officially prohibiting export of the Fluvirin brand that Chiron manufactures in Liverpool.
The sanction means more than a delay, Chiron officials said. The company will ship no Fluvirin anywhere this year.
The move took U.S. regulators by surprise. Food and Drug Administration officials headed to Britain on Tuesday night to investigate but wouldn't say if they would ask British regulators for a special release of shots for use here if the flu season proves a bad one.
Chiron had brought more than 1 million doses to this country before its license was suspended but hasn't released the batch, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said. He would not say if those doses were potentially usable.
Here's the problem
Thompson asked the maker of the remaining 54 million flu shots to try to make more. Aventis Pasteur plans to try but can't increase production until it meets current orders in November.
High-risk patients depend on flu shots because the injections are made of killed influenza virus. Other people have another option: About 1 million doses of an inhaled flu vaccine, MedImmune Inc.'s FluMist, will be available for healthy 5- to 49-year-olds. It's made from live but weakened influenza virus.
A flu treatment called Tamiflu also can protect against infection if swallowed daily during an outbreak. Manufacturer Roche Pharmaceuticals said Tuesday it would step up production in anticipation of greater demand this winter.
Flu vaccine is made using chicken eggs and takes months to brew, meaning manufacturers cannot suddenly produce more.
Yet vaccine shortages and delays have plagued the country for several years, and Tuesday's debacle prompted scientists to urge that the system be modernized.