MONROE - Simple biology might be to blame for a scarcity of swine flu vaccines in Green County that could leave most people waiting for months to get a shot.
The H1N1 strain being used to make the vaccine by five producers nationwide is not growing fast enough to meet demand from health care providers and local health departments across the country, said RoAnn Warden, Green County Health Department health officer.
"It appears the virus that they grow for the vaccine is slow to grow," she said.
In response to the late-arriving vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control has issued revised guidelines for health care providers such as Monroe Clinic and the county health department to distribute the vaccine.
Under the new recommendations, health care workers in direct contact with patients will receive the vaccine if they volunteer to receive it. Once they are treated, pregnant women will be given the vaccine, followed by those who live with infants under six months of age. Finally, before vaccines will go directly to schools and the general population, people between the ages of 5 and 18 with medical conditions that make them at high risk for the swine flu virus will be given treatment, Warden said.
Both Monroe Clinic and the county health department are requesting nasally inhaled vaccine and the traditional shot, but only healthy people age 2 to 49 can receive the nasal spray, Warden said.
The health department is hoping to finish vaccinating those who choose to be treated in the target groups with in the next few weeks, while the general public might have to wait "for the coming months," Warden said.
The vaccines are distributed by the federal government, which orders them from five manufacturers. The vaccine then is distributed to states based on population, then health care providers make requests to state health departments for the vaccine, said Mary Flynn, Monroe Clinic infection control coordinator.
Green County providers got quite a surprise before it was known that the vaccine was growing slowly.
On Oct. 8, the county health department ordered 6,000 doses of a mix of the nasal spray and injections, but only received 200, Warden said.
Monroe Clinic ordered vaccine at about the same time as the county health department, Flynn said.
As of Oct. 26, Wisconsin has received about 377,900 doses, comprised of both injection methods, Flynn said.
To address the disbursement of the vaccine once it arrives, representatives of Monroe Clinic, the county health department, emergency management personnel and area schools have formed a committee to organize the process, Flynn said.
Once the word arrives from the state that a vaccine request has been granted, it takes about 10 days to get the doses, she said. The time allows the committee to determine who is left who needs the vaccine and what method - clinic, individual meeting - is best to disperse the treatment, Flynn said.
"It takes up to 10 days to receive the doses, so that is really a good lead time to meet the needs of the high-risk patients," she said.
The clinic and health department met Thursday to discuss how they can work together with the doses they have to ensure all health care workers are treated, and how to share resources in the future.
The health department has about 150 people yet to be treated in the first wave of the new guidelines, while Monroe Clinic has vaccinated about 700 of its 1,100 employees, according to Warden and Liz Carroll, Monroe Clinic director of marketing and community relations.
Health care providers participate in a weekly Wednesday online seminar with the state health department to hear an update on the latest swine flu news, Flynn said.
In the meantime, Monroe Clinic has set up a Web site with information and the latest news on available doses, www.monroeclinic.org/h1n1. The health department also has a Web presence updating those interested in the vaccine, www.greencountyhealth.org.
Word of the vaccine shortage hasn't stopped people from asking for a dose, Carroll said.
"We are being bombarded with calls about the vaccine," she said.
The public will have to wait until more doses are available, as the federal government has been promising, and be patient, Warden said.
"At least we have a vaccine, but it's just not arriving," she said.
The H1N1 strain being used to make the vaccine by five producers nationwide is not growing fast enough to meet demand from health care providers and local health departments across the country, said RoAnn Warden, Green County Health Department health officer.
"It appears the virus that they grow for the vaccine is slow to grow," she said.
In response to the late-arriving vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control has issued revised guidelines for health care providers such as Monroe Clinic and the county health department to distribute the vaccine.
Under the new recommendations, health care workers in direct contact with patients will receive the vaccine if they volunteer to receive it. Once they are treated, pregnant women will be given the vaccine, followed by those who live with infants under six months of age. Finally, before vaccines will go directly to schools and the general population, people between the ages of 5 and 18 with medical conditions that make them at high risk for the swine flu virus will be given treatment, Warden said.
Both Monroe Clinic and the county health department are requesting nasally inhaled vaccine and the traditional shot, but only healthy people age 2 to 49 can receive the nasal spray, Warden said.
The health department is hoping to finish vaccinating those who choose to be treated in the target groups with in the next few weeks, while the general public might have to wait "for the coming months," Warden said.
The vaccines are distributed by the federal government, which orders them from five manufacturers. The vaccine then is distributed to states based on population, then health care providers make requests to state health departments for the vaccine, said Mary Flynn, Monroe Clinic infection control coordinator.
Green County providers got quite a surprise before it was known that the vaccine was growing slowly.
On Oct. 8, the county health department ordered 6,000 doses of a mix of the nasal spray and injections, but only received 200, Warden said.
Monroe Clinic ordered vaccine at about the same time as the county health department, Flynn said.
As of Oct. 26, Wisconsin has received about 377,900 doses, comprised of both injection methods, Flynn said.
To address the disbursement of the vaccine once it arrives, representatives of Monroe Clinic, the county health department, emergency management personnel and area schools have formed a committee to organize the process, Flynn said.
Once the word arrives from the state that a vaccine request has been granted, it takes about 10 days to get the doses, she said. The time allows the committee to determine who is left who needs the vaccine and what method - clinic, individual meeting - is best to disperse the treatment, Flynn said.
"It takes up to 10 days to receive the doses, so that is really a good lead time to meet the needs of the high-risk patients," she said.
The clinic and health department met Thursday to discuss how they can work together with the doses they have to ensure all health care workers are treated, and how to share resources in the future.
The health department has about 150 people yet to be treated in the first wave of the new guidelines, while Monroe Clinic has vaccinated about 700 of its 1,100 employees, according to Warden and Liz Carroll, Monroe Clinic director of marketing and community relations.
Health care providers participate in a weekly Wednesday online seminar with the state health department to hear an update on the latest swine flu news, Flynn said.
In the meantime, Monroe Clinic has set up a Web site with information and the latest news on available doses, www.monroeclinic.org/h1n1. The health department also has a Web presence updating those interested in the vaccine, www.greencountyhealth.org.
Word of the vaccine shortage hasn't stopped people from asking for a dose, Carroll said.
"We are being bombarded with calls about the vaccine," she said.
The public will have to wait until more doses are available, as the federal government has been promising, and be patient, Warden said.
"At least we have a vaccine, but it's just not arriving," she said.