Darien Faces Flu Vaccine Shortage

Few would argue that getting the flu is wretched; and this year, getting a flu shot is no day in the park either. Along with the rest of the nation, Darien is facing a severe shortage of seasonal and swine flu vaccine. The situation has left many yet to be vaccinated residents feeling frightened, frustrated—wretched.

Such was the case at the Nov. 3 vaccination clinic in the Town Hall auditorium, said Health Director David Knauf. The Election Day clinic piggybacked on the nationwide Vax & Vote initiative. The idea is simple: cast a ballot; get a flu shot. Knauf predicted back in September that the clinic would be popular, but never did he expect a turnout like that of Tuesday afternoon.

“I thought we would run out, but it looked like an RTM meeting in here,” said Knauf, the evening of Nov. 3, as he stood in the auditorium. (Representative Town Meetings pack over 100 people.)

Federal officials say the same amount of seasonal flu vaccine was manufactured this year as last and point to the widely publicized threat of the swine flu pandemic as cause of the spike in demand. But the limited supply has not stifled health officials’ encouragement that the public get vaccinated.

When hundreds of Darien residents arrived at the Town Hall Tuesday afternoon, sleeves rolled up, ready for a shot, hundreds were turned away.

“People want what they want, when they want it,” said Knauf. “We just didn’t have enough, and people were really upset.”

H1N1 vaccine was also available on Tuesday, albeit for an hour. According to the Centers of Disease Control, Connecticut received 178,800 doses of the H1N1 vaccine on Monday of this week. On Tuesday, Darien had received 100 doses, twenty of which were distributed to health care providers in town. The remaining 80 were reserved for those at-risk residents, per the Federal government’s priority list, who had expressed interest in receiving the vaccine.

Knauf said those vaccines quickly ran dry, and shortly thereafter every one of the 150 shots of the seasonal-flu variety were gone. Within a few hours, the clinic was closed.

“People are so frightened,” said Knauf. “Don’t be. This is not Ebola. The reality is this is the flu. The swine flu is a novel flu, but it’s still the flu. Most people get better in a few days.”

The priority list remains until more vaccine becomes readily available. School children will be the next group to top the list, said Knauf. He added that Tuesday’s clinic re-emphasized the need for further planning of the in-school clinics.

Aside from the challenge of inoculating a large number of people in a brief period of time, said Knauf, Tuesday’s clinic also saw a fair amount of the “freak out” factor.

“It’s hugely distracting when you have a little kid whaling because he doesn’t like needles,” said Knauf. “You have one kid at a school clinic freak out—I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

The freak-out factor has deterred school nurses wary of upsetting their relationship with needle-hating students from participating at all. Nurses from local hospitals will staff the school clinics instead. Knauf said that during his continued discussions with Superintendent Fiftal on the school clinics, it’s likely that administration will also ask parents to chaperone the elementary school children.

Since Tuesday, the Health Department has received an additional shipment of 300 H1N1 vaccine doses; that's it for two weeks, said Knauf. As for the seasonal shots, the Health Department has not one. Knauf and his staff will continue to administer the H1N1 vaccine per request from at-risk individuals and encourages individuals to turn to their own pediatricians and doctors to receive the seasonal vaccine.

If you or a family member is in the priority group call the Health Department office at 203-656-7320 or email ekilbourn@darien.ct.gov.