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Div. of Media Relations
1600 Clifton Road
MS D-14
Atlanta, GA 30333
(404) 639-3286
Fax (404) 639-7394 |
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Press Release
For Immediate Release
March 31, 2005 |
Contact: CDC Media Relations
(404)-639-7516 |
Targeting and Collaborations a Big Success;
Priority Groups Received Majority of 2004-05 Influenza Vaccine Thanks to 17
Million Healthy Americans Stepping Aside
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today that
during the 2004-05 flu season, the majority of the nation’s influenza vaccine
went to the people at greatest risk for serious complications from flu,
including 6 to 23 months old children, people 65 years of age and older, and
people with chronic health conditions. Importantly, despite an unexpected and
substantial vaccine shortfall, influenza vaccination coverage levels among
adults in priority groups through January nearly reached levels similar to
previous years, while coverage levels among adults not in priority groups
were approximately half of historic levels.
“We know this was a challenging year for many patients and clinicians who
patiently waited for influenza vaccine,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, CDC
director, “but overall our extensive efforts paid off. Thanks to outstanding
cooperation between the manufacturers, federal, state and local health
departments and round the clock engagement of the CDC teams, we had influenza
coverage rates for priority groups similar to previous years, and we did with
much less vaccine than last year.”
An estimated 40 million doses of the 61 million doses of influenza vaccine
distributed this flu season went to persons in the priority groups. Most of
these people were vaccinated in October and November 2004 with fewer being
vaccinated in December and January 2005.
To monitor influenza vaccination coverage during the 2004-05 season, the
CDC added questions to the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS),
an ongoing, state-based, telephone survey of the U.S. population. Among
adults, influenza vaccination coverage through January of this 2004-05 season
was highest among persons aged 65 years old and older (62.7%), followed by
health-care workers with direct patient contact (35.7%), and people aged
18-64 years with high-risk conditions (25.5%). In comparison, a 2003 CDC
survey found 65.6% of persons aged 65 years and older were vaccinated in
2003, along with 40.1% of health-care workers, and 34.2% of adults aged 18-64
years with high-risk conditions. (The final 2004 National Health Interview
survey results are expected to be available in July 2005.)
The 2005 BRFSS survey also revealed a large decrease in the percentage of
healthy persons aged 18-64 who received an influenza vaccination during the
2004-05 influenza season. According to the survey, when health care workers
and contacts of children under 6 months of age are excluded, only 8.8 percent
of healthy persons aged 18-64 reported receiving an influenza vaccination
compared to an estimated 17.8 percent in 2003. The decrease in healthy
persons receiving a flu shot represents about 17.5 million doses of vaccine
made available this year for priority groups.
For children aged 6-23 months, coverage was estimated at 48.4 percent, and
for children aged 2-17 years with high-risk conditions, coverage was
estimated at 34.8 percent. This flu season was the first one when influenza
vaccination was recommended for children aged 6 - 23 months. Influenza
vaccination coverage among children aged 6 - 23 months and high-risk children
2- 17 years of age was substantially higher than among children not in
priority groups, estimated at 12.3 percent. In contrast, during the 2002-
2003 influenza season, coverage among children aged 6 to 23 months was only
7.4 percent.
Planning for the 2005-06 influenza season has begun, and CDC has been
meeting with influenza vaccine manufacturers including those who expressed an
interest in seeking Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval to distribute
influenza vaccine in the United States. As of March 25, 2005, the supply of
inactivated influenza vaccine projected for the 2005-06 season appears
adequate to meet the historical demand (i.e. less than half of the
approximate 95 million in priority groups) from persons in the priority
groups established by ACIP during the 2004-05 season (about 40 million
doses). If more vaccine becomes available, additional groups can also be
targeted for vaccination.
“We hope we’ll have a better supply of influenza vaccine for the 2005-06
flu season,” said Dr. Gerberding. “But as we learned this year, our planning
needs to take into account that the supply and demand for influenza vaccine
can be as unpredictable as influenza. We’re developing plans for different
situations, and working closely with the Department of Health and Human
Services, National Institutes of Health, and FDA to try to get as many doses
as possible for the next influenza season.”
Given the uncertainty about the number of doses of inactivated influenza
vaccine that might be available for the 2005-06 season, CDC is encouraging
the implementation of a two-tiered influenza vaccine ordering strategy by
manufacturers, distributors and customers of inactivated vaccine. Under this
approach, those who administer inactivated flu vaccine are being asked to
prioritize their inactivated vaccine orders based on the following groups:
- Persons 65 years of age and older.
- Persons aged 2-64 years with underlying chronic medical conditions.
- All women who will be pregnant during the influenza season.
- All children aged 6-23 months.
- Health-care workers involved in direct patient care.
- Out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children aged <6
months.
- Residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
- Children aged 6 months-18 years on chronic aspirin therapy.
Whenever feasible, CDC also encourages a distribution strategy in which
partial shipments are first shipped to all pre-booked customers, early in the
vaccination season, followed by additional shipments later in the season.
This strategy will enable all providers to administer vaccine initially to
those persons at high risk, even when supplies are limited.
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