That's why I'm seeking support for a House of Representatives resolution that would urge Gov. Rendell to use his emergency powers to prevent the dispensing of influenza vaccine to people who are not in the high-priority category established by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 98 million Americans fall into this designation - almost double the number of available doses of flu vaccine this year. These include people 65 and older, children ages 6 months to 23 months, people with children younger than 6 months, those with chronic illnesses such as diabetes or asthma, women pregnant during flu season, residents of nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, and health-care workers involved in direct patient care.
While the problems are long-standing and well-recognized, federal officials have failed to address them adequately. The current shortage is the third in the last five years. In 2000, vaccine shipments ran six to eight weeks late, limiting the availability of shots at the time of highest demand. Last year, widely publicized childhood deaths early in the season set off a surge in demand that left some high-risk patients scrambling for shots. And since 2001, two government reports have pointed to the fragility of the U.S. supply system. The consequences could be deadly, not to mention costly.
Influenza and pneumonia combine to be the fifth-leading cause of death for Americans over 65 and in 2001 accounted for more than 62,000 deaths. In the 2003-04 flu season, when there were 100 million doses of vaccine available and 83 million dispensed, the American Lung Association says the price tag came to almost $37.5 billion in direct and indirect costs. Is there any doubt that this year these numbers will increase in the face of the vaccine shortage? My deepest hope is that the logic of numbers - half the doses resulting in twice the deaths - is not realized. My worst fear is that it will be.
