By KEN CARLSON
BEE STAFF WRITER
Last Updated: October 7, 2004, 09:19:49 AM PDT

Stanislaus County's flu shot clinics, where almost 10,000 seniors and others received vaccinations last year, have been canceled for 2004 because of a nationwide vaccine shortage, officials said Wednesday.

County health officials are advising elderly people and others in high-risk categories to seek vaccinations from their physicians or other health care providers who already may have obtained some vaccine.

The county still plans vaccination clinics for lowincome children, with the dates and times to be announced. Those clinics will be for children 6 months to 23 months old or those up to 18 years old who have health problems that make them vulnerable to flu complications.

Flu vaccine became in short supply Tuesday when the British government abruptly suspended the license of a Chiron Corp. manufacturing plant. It normally makes about half of the flu vaccine distributed in the United States.

The California Department of Health Services, which supplies counties with flu vaccine, had arranged to buy its 2004 supply from Chiron but will not receive the serum this year, officials said.

Merced, Tuolumne and San Joaquin counties also have suspended flu clinics pending further notice. State and federal officials continue to work on obtaining vaccine from other sources.

For example, the French vaccine maker Aventis still has not shipped 24 million doses designated for the United States, county officials said.

In the meantime, officials are asking that healthy people skip flu vaccinations this year to preserve available supplies for the elderly and people with heart disease and other health issues.

More than 30,000 people nationwide die each year from flu complications, such as pneumonia.

"There is no vaccine to give (to adults)," said David Jones, spokesman for the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency. "If the state is able to obtain vaccine and distributes it to the county health department, we will provide vaccinations to those most at risk."

Among the canceled clinics is one held at the Modesto Senior Citizens Center on Bodem Avenue. Center coordinator Shannon Parker said 800 to 1,000 seniors usually get vaccinated.

"A lot of people will be very disappointed," she said. "Many of their doctors recommend that they come to the senior center for their flu shots instead of getting them in the doctor's office."

Yvonne Watson, playing cards at the center Wednesday, said her reason for getting a flu shot is simple. "I don't want to be sick for the winter," she said, noting that a flu bout can affect her for a couple of weeks.

Christina Rogers, who was taking two toddlers to the library in Modesto, said she hoped the vaccine would be available for her family.

"We are bummed out about it," she said. "When the young children get sick, they can have breathing problems, and you may have to put them on respirators."

She, 3-year-old Justin and 14-month-old Jeremy were going to join other children for story hour. "After, we will probably wash our hands and be really careful," Rogers said.

Another Modesto resident, Douglas Johnson, said he has no chronic health issues, but still would like the option of a flu shot. "I get the flu every now and then," he said. "When I get the flu, I get it bad."

Doctors may not have enough serum

Dr. John Walker, public health officer for Stanislaus County, said he did not know whether valley doctors' offices and other health providers have enough vaccine on hand for high-risk patients.

But he said it will help stretch available supplies if healthy people heed the call to skip vaccinations this year.

In the absence of flu vaccine, officials are calling for prevention — such as staying home from work or school when sick, washing your hands, and covering your nose and mouth when sneezing.

Walker said an option for high-risk people is a prescription pneumonia vaccine, which guards against flu-related lung infections for five years. Anti-viral medications can help in recovering from flu, he said.

Another source for vaccinations are Maxim Health Systems clinics slated at drugstores and supermarkets in Modesto, Turlock, Oakdale, Riverbank, Patterson, Sonora, Merced, Atwater and Manteca. The cost is $25. The firm has updated its Web site listing of locations and times, www.findaflushot.com.

Maxim will screen participants to determine whether they are high risk, and tickets will be issued for the number of doses available, officials said.

"We will have clinics, we just don't know how long the supply is going to last," said Steve Wright, Maxim's national services director. "We know the demand is going to be higher (because of the lack of public clinics). We just don't know how much higher."

Two of the area's largest health providers, Sutter Gould Medical Foundation and Kaiser Permanente, are holding clinics this month. Both organizations send information on the clinics to their patients.

"We are following the (government) recommendation to limit it to high-risk people at this point, and then we will evaluate our supply and proceed accordingly," said Craig Baize, a Sutter Gould spokesman.

Kaiser spokesman Terry Lightfoot said: "We believe we have enough vaccine for our high-risk members."

Bee staff writer Ken Carlson can be reached at 578-2321 or kcarlson@modbee.com.

PRECAUTIONS

• Stay home when you are sick to avoid contact with co-workers and friends.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when coughing or sneezing. Properly dispose of used tissues.
• Wash your hands with soap and warm water or a hand sanitizer to help protect yourself from germs. Avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth.
• Stay healthy by eating nutritious foods, drinking plenty of water, exercising, getting plenty of rest, not smoking and avoiding alcohol.