Sick with worry

Jennie Christinzio was one of the lucky ones.

On Oct. 15, the 90-year-old received one of the few influenza vaccines provided to the South Philadelphia Older Adult Center, Passyunk Avenue and Dickinson Street.

While the city Health Department had promised the center 200 doses, the nationwide shortage of flu shots slashed the supply to 90.

Since shots were administered on a first-come, first-served basis, some seniors left the center the same way they had arrived — with no protection against the virus.

"I was lucky," said Christinzio. "I felt sorry for the others that didn’t get it."

Ever since the Centers for Disease Control announced last month that a contaminated batch of flu vaccines would lead to a nationwide shortage, the shots have been treated like medicinal gold.

"There are several people who are at high risk and haven’t gotten it," said Carole McKelvey, director of the Older Adult Center. "There’s no place for them to get it, and they’re concerned."

In light of the national crisis, the director feels the Health Department has done its best to distribute as many shots as possible.

"They’re overwhelmed, and they gave us as much as they could," McKelvey said. "There are no more in the foreseeable future."

Fears about the flu-shot shortage began last month when a Chiron Corp. plant in England closed due to bacterial contamination.

The company, one of only two injectable-vaccine manufacturers, was forced to take its product — Fluviron — off the market, cutting in half the American supply.

French-owned Aventis Pasteur is currently the only company producing the injectable vaccine, said CDC spokesperson Karen Hunter.

A total of 58 million flu shots have been made available to this country, added Hunter.

Department of Health and Human Services Director Tommy Thompson recently announced that the Food and Drug Administration would analyze vaccine manufacturing facilities in Canada and Germany. If the plants meet U.S. standards, they could provide 5 million more doses for Americans.

Three million doses of the nasal-spray flu vaccine are also available. However, that form is usually reserved for healthy people ages 5-49.

The CDC recommends the injectable vaccine for priority, or high-risk, groups, which include:

* those 6-23 months

* those 65 and older

* those 2-64 with underlying chronic medical conditions

* women who will be pregnant during the influenza season

* residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities

* those 6 months-18 years on chronic aspirin therapy

* healthcare workers involved in direct patient care

* out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of those under 6 months.

The Philadelphia Department of Public Health was geared up to receive 81,000 flu shots. However, 31,000 of those doses were cancelled because they were to come from Chiron Corp., said Jeff Moran, spokesperson for the department.

The remaining 50,000 shots were reallocated to meet the needs of the entire nation, leaving the city with half that amount, noted Moran.

The department has received 20,000 flu shots and distributed them to health centers and community-based sites in the city.

The additional 5,000 doses are on the way to being distributed, with 1,800 arriving last week, added Moran.

"We know more vaccines are coming," he said. "We don’t know when they will be made available."

The shortage of adult vaccines will have no impact on the number of pediatric flu shots available to children, Moran added. Aventis Pasteur also produced these shots.

Local physicians are joining the frenzy to acquire the precious vaccines.

Dr. James Dovnarsky, a pulmonologist at Methodist Hospital, Broad and Wolf streets, said his office acquired 120 flu shots this year.

"We’ve been trying to get more without success," he said. "We’re rapidly running out of vaccines."

While about 80 of his patients have been vaccinated, Dovnarsky said many this year will go without acquiring the shot.

"We’re rationing it based on the current guidelines set by the CDC," he said. "I won’t be able to vaccinate everybody I wanted to vaccinate."

While the flu shot might be in short supply, alternatives are available to help prevent the public from becoming sick.

For example, prescription antiviral drugs promise to reduce the severity and longevity of flu symptoms. The drug Amantadine has proven 60- to 80-percent effective in preventing influenza, said Dovnarsky.

Health officials also urge the public to prevent the spread of infection by covering mouths when coughing or sneezing, and recommend washing hands periodically and avoiding infected individuals.

"Staying away from people who have the flu is in the public’s best interest," said Dovnarsky.

While included in the CDC’s high-risk group, local seniors have mixed reactions about the flu-shot crisis.

"I think it’s exaggerated," said Sally Daly, 72, a visitor to the South Philadelphia Older Adult Center. "The news media plays it up."

Daly said she does not plan to get vaccinated.

Elise Bowman, of the 2500 block of South Fourth Street, already received her flu shot, but still has mild concerns about this year’s flu season.

"I’m concerned about the many outbreaks of the different kinds of flu," said Bowman, 69.

Spreading flu facts

Many people get sick just thinking about flu season, especially this year, when the vaccine supply is extremely limited. But while most are aware of the nasty symptoms — fever, body aches and fatigue, to name a few — the virus itself is somewhat of a mystery to the average person. The flu is actually a contagious respiratory illness caused by the influenza virus.

There are three families of this virus, known as A, B and C. Type A and B viruses are responsible for the epidemics experienced every flu season, while Type C infections cause only a mild respiratory illness in their hosts. According to the Centers for Disease Control, two subtypes of the Type A virus are found in humans. Each year’s flu vaccine includes these two subtypes and strains of Type B.

Minuscule changes in the virus, known as antigenic drifts, can produce new strains that are unrecognizable to the body’s immune system. For example, an infected person may develop antibodies for one flu virus strain yet, if a new strain appears, the antibodies do not respond and reinfection might occur.

Antigenic shift, which is an abrupt change in the Type A virus, also occurs and results in new subtypes.

Fortunately, the flu vaccine is updated every year to keep up with the ever-evolving virus, explaining why a flu shot is needed on an annual basis. While the virus is spread predominantly through droplets passed through coughing and sneezing, it is also possible to acquire the illness by touching an object that contains the virus and then touching one’s mouth or nose.

The CDC states that infected adults are able to spread the virus a day before their symptoms occur and up to seven days after they appear.

People may equate being "sick to your stomach" or feeling nauseous with having the flu. However, the illness is a respiratory disease, not a stomach or intestinal disease. Think about that the next time you use the term "stomach flu."

–by Fred Durso Jr.