Public advised to take advantage of flu shot

By Amy Cox
CNN

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(CNN) -- As the flu season heads into its traditional peak period, health officials are urging the public to take advantage of the record number of vaccines available.

"Overall we're only vaccinating about 32 percent of the people we're trying to vaccinate," said Dr. Paul Biddinger, with the Center for Public Health Preparedness at the Harvard School of Public Health, in Boston, Massachusetts.

This year, about 115 million doses of the flu vaccine are available, more than in any years past. The flu season usually peaks any time from December through March.

"We have an abundance of influenza vaccine. In fact, this year we're all working hard to make sure that we use all this vaccine," Dr. William Schaffner of Vanderbilt University told CNN's "House Call." "It can't prevent flu if it stays in the refrigerator, so anyone who wishes to prevent influenza and doesn't want to transmit it to anyone else, should get immunized."

A recent study by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases suggests that around half of Americans plan on getting vaccinated.

The CDC recommends anyone who doesn't want the flu get vaccinated, but particularly people in high-risk groups, who have a greater chance of developing complications. These include health care workers, people over age 50, those with chronic medical conditions, pregnant women and children aged 6 months to 5 years old.

So far, widespread activity has not appeared across the nation, according to the CDC. But the situation can quickly change, says Biddinger, also an emergency physician at Massachusetts General Hospital.

"You never can tell [what the season will be like]," he said. "So far what we've seen is tracking along the lines of the last few flu seasons. It can happen in fits and starts."

On average, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized yearly with influenza and flu-related complications. As many as 36,000 Americans die each year from complications of the flu, according to the CDC.

"It's surprising, but half of the people really don't realize how serious influenza is," said Schaffner, an adviser to the CDC on immunizations. "They don't realize it's the respiratory infection in the wintertime that can actually put you in the hospital. A lot of people in high-risk groups don't identify themselves in high-risk groups."

But Biddinger thinks more people are getting the message. He's seen an uptick in the number of people asking for the flu vaccine this year. He's not exactly sure why, but thinks the threat of bird flu and the news of a possible pandemic may play a part.

"Here in Massachusetts, in particular, our state health department has started early in the season talking about pandemic preparedness and being prepared for any flu season," he said. "I think that's raised people's awareness about the utility of the flu shot."

While the H5N1 virus, or bird flu, has not yet infected Americans, health officials have monitored its possibility as a pandemic strain of the flu which could be easily transferred from person to person.

"So far that hasn't happened," said Biddinger. "We've accumulated a little more data that suggests this virus may not become a pandemic virus, but we don't know.

"What we do know is that there have been three pandemics a century, for a long time," he continued. "And so we do know that a pandemic is probably inevitable. The last one was in 1968 so we just don't know when the next pandemic will come or how severe it will be."

For now, Biddinger and other health officials are encouraging the public to get the seasonal flu vaccine, whether they're worried about a pandemic or not.

"If everyone in the general public who was recommended got a flu shot, that would help us face the burden much better than we're able to do right now," he said. "Just because flu season has started or [it's] even active doesn't mean that it's too late to get a flu shot."

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