NY Times:
Officials Reconsider Flu Vaccine Restrictions
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: December 17, 2004
ATLANTA, Dec. 16 (AP) - Two months after the government recommended that scarce flu shots be reserved for people most at risk, health officials are now worried that tens of thousands of doses of the vaccine could go to waste, and they are considering easing the restrictions.
The furor over the vaccine shortage and the government's response to it have had an unintended effect. More than half of all elderly or chronically ill adults have not even tried to obtain flu shots because they thought they would not be able to get one, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Thursday.
The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices for the centers plans to hold an emergency conference call on Friday to discuss whether to recommend that more people be allowed to get shots....
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More than four out of five states report having sufficient supplies of flu shots, and the C.D.C. is asking health providers with surplus vaccine to turn it over to their states' health departments so it can be redistributed to those states with shortages, (C.D.C. director Dr. Julie Gerberding) said....
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/17/health/17flu.html