ATLANTA (AP) — For the first time, the government will stockpile flu shots for children to avoid the vaccine shortages that caught health officials off guard in the winter.
“We really failed to foresee the influenza vaccine shortage this year. We were caught with our pants down,” said Lance Rodewald, director of the Division of Immunization Services at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
About 4 million doses will be set aside for children up to age 18, said Dr. Stephen Cochi of the CDC yesterday.
The government plans to spend $80 million in the next two years to pay for the stockpile, said Mr. Cochi, acting director of the National Immunization Program.
In an alarmingly severe start to the recent flu season, parents rushed to doctors’ offices seeking the shots for their children as emergency rooms were flooded with sick children. Influenza was blamed for dozens of child deaths by Christmas.
Although the government is setting aside flu shots for children, some adults may be allowed to tap into the supply during a crisis, if approved by Congress, Mr. Rodewald said.
Despite the alarming start, the flu season turned out to be fairly typical, the government said last week. A total of 143 children died of the flu, which is about average, Mr. Cochi said.
Most of the children had no health problems before getting the flu, and most had not received a flu shot.
In an average year, the disease infects up to 20 percent of the nation’s population, killing about 36,000 Americans and hospitalizing 114,000.
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