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December 5, 2007
Little Rock--It has been a record-breaking year for flu vaccinations already at the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), and that’s a good thing for the state’s health protection, officials say. More than 100,000 free doses were given to Arkansans around the state who participated in the mass-dispensing exercise early last month during a test of the state’s emergency preparedness. The three-day effort was the largest ever free flu-shot drive in the country, and has resulted in the largest order of flu vaccine in the state’s history. This year ADH has already received 240,830 doses, which exceeds the total supply for the season in previous years.
Dr. James Phillips, Director of the ADH Infectious Disease Branch, says that the state can and will order more vaccine, but supplies will run out before the season ends. “We always try to plan so that we don’t buy more vaccine than we have demand for, but it is impossible to predict what the flu season will actually be like until it’s on us,” Phillips said.
“We think that what this means is that the public is more concerned about protecting themselves from the flu,” Phillips said. “We think that the word has gotten out, not only through our statewide exercise, but at the national level, that prevention is more important than ever today. We’re glad that people have taken advantage of the chance to protect themselves this year with a flu shot.”
As of Monday, December 3, there were no reports of positive flu cultures reported anywhere in the state, in spite of the fact that there have been reports in surrounding states. Arkansas’s flu season typically lasts from December through March.
Supplies of the vaccine ran short in many Health Department locations across the state following the special clinics because the demand was much higher than expected. “We thought we might get about 60,000 people to come in during the three-day exercise, but we were surprised and pleased by the outcome,” Phillips said.
The Department has ordered more vaccine, which should be in place by this Friday, December 7th. So far this season, Local Health Units around the state that ran short have been able to get supplies from other areas that had vaccine left over, which is the normal procedure during the flu season. Flu vaccine is still available at private physicians’ offices, some pharmacies and other retail locations across the state, in addition to the supply that the state distributes through the Health Department.
“We are advising people to call the ADH office where they live before they make a trip to get a flu shot, just to make sure that we have enough vaccine left in stock,” Phillips said.
For more information on the flu, visit the ADH website at www.healthyarkansas.com or go to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s flu information site at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/.
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