By Dave Vieser
Vaccine delay threatens local programs
No-cost flu and pneumonia vaccinations programs, which traditionally serve over 700 residents annually in the East Rockaway/Lynbrook/Malverne area, are being seriously jeopardized this year due to a lack of vaccine. East Rockaway has already canceled their program for this year, Malverne is awaiting word from their supplier, and Lynbrook is tentatively clinging to a once-delayed mid November date, in hopes the vaccine will come in by then.
"We have never run into this type of problem before," said East Rockaway Clerk Sandra L. Torborg, in explaining why the village is canceling the program for this year. "The village has been told that we can't get the vaccine until mid to late November, and we feel that providing the immunizations in a timely manner is important to the health of our residents. We feel that a date in mid to late November would not be in the best interests of our residents."
In Lynbrook, where over 400 residents normally participate, the date for the immunization has been rolled back from October to a tentative date of November 17, providing that the vaccine is available by that time. "We recognize that mid November is borderline in terms of timing, but we are hoping that we'll get our hands on the vaccine by then," said program director Dick Flynn, who oversees the flu shot program at Greis Park. "Any participant who feels uneasy about waiting that long should contact their physician or health care provider immediately."
Malverne officials are holding off on making any final decisions until they get more definitive word from Franklin Hospital Medical Center which traditionally provides flu shots in the village for about 150 people. "We're unsure of what we will do until we get more clarification from Franklin General" said Deputy Village Clerk Toni Sussman. "We hope to have a clearer picture by mid September."
The free flu immunization program was established years ago by the Nassau County Department of Senior Citizen Affairs, in conjucntion with local muncipalities. Each municipality is traditionally provided one day to innoculate those eligible for the shots, which include senior citizens and those who are considered to be at high risk by the medical community. In past years, the shots were given beginning in October, running into December, though influenza can be contracted as early as the beginning of November.
According to Carolyn Acerra at the Department of Senior Citizen Affairs, one other village, New Hyde Park, has joined East Rockaway in canceling this year's program. Most of the others are taking a "wait and see" attitude, hoping that by early October, when the scheduled immunization dates begin, this year's flu vaccine will be available.
The vaccine used for the immunizations is changed each year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta to provide protection from the specific strain of flu expected, according to Cynthia Brown, spokeswoman for the Nassau County Health Department. This year's vaccine is a type "AAB" mix:
*Type A New Caledonia
*Type A Panama
*Type B Yamanashi
In a letter to health care agencies from one of the vaccine manufacturers, Wyeth Lederle Vaccines of Paoli, Pa., a copy of which was obtained by the Herald, they cite the delay in vaccine this year as "an industry wide issue", the result of "lower than normal production yields from one of the virus strains included in the vaccine." Wyeth Lederle is planning to produce additional vaccine batches to off-set the low yields, but they will need extra time for production, thereby distributing the vaccine on a delayed schedule.
Whether the "delayed distribution" schedule will meet the scheduled flu shot dates remains to be seen.
