Posted: 05/02/07

Flu Frenzy
Record number of flu shots planned for upcoming season

Kurstin Reuschel | contributing writer
kruschel@smcvt.edu

This coming flu season not only should we be concerned about getting the flu, but there is also rising concern about the avian flu. Flu vaccine manufacturers expect to have a record 132 million doses ready for this upcoming flu season, yet it will still fall short of U.S. demand, according to an Associated Press article.

Flu facts

According to Estelle Maartmann-Moe, director of the Center for Health and Well Being at the University of Vermont, the flu is a virus that can cause a variety of symptoms including a fever ranging from 101 degrees to 105 degrees, aches, cough, headache, and fatigue. Other symptoms can include nausea, sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, and runny nose.

Flu season in the Northeast starts in late November and usually lasts until March. Peak season is usually in February, According to Sue Barry, the Immunization Program Chief for the State. (Rachel Haven, photo)

“Sometimes it can be so terrible you are not so sure you want to be alive and it's often the worst illness most have had,” Maartmann-Moe says.

According to Sue Barry, the immunization program chief for Vt., there are two types of flu vaccine. The first is injectable and is commonly referred to as the flu shot. This type of the vaccine is a "killed" vaccine, meaning the virus is dead before injected. The second type of vaccine is a live flu that is given internasally. Some are timid to get this vaccine because it is “live," but this actually gives you better protection than the shot, Barry says.

The virus for the vaccine is typically grown inside chicken embryos, Barry says, which means those who are allergic to eggs cannot receive the vaccine. At the National Immunization Conference, held this past March in Kansas City, there was some talk of possibly growing the virus in insects.

Growing the vaccine this way allows them to, "make the vaccine more rapidly and have a larger supply,” Barry says.

According to Barry, each year the virus mutates, thus a new vaccine must be created for the new virus. There are two types of the virus, labeled A and B. The 2007-2008 vaccine has two A components and one B component. They are the most likely strains of the virus to be circulating. The "A" virus is typically the one that makes you really sick while "B" is usually less intense, she says. There is also a possibility that a person can get all three strains at the same time because they are all different viruses.

Flu season in the Northeast starts in late November and usually lasts until March. Peak season is usually in February, Barry says.

“For travelers, if you are going south it is good to note that flu season is the opposite of ours,” Barry says.

Susan Jacques, director of health services at St. Michael's College wrote in an e-mail interview that the shot is approved for everyone over six months of age. Because it is a "killed" virus you cannot get the flu from the shot. Some minor side effects can be soreness of the arm at the injection site, a low grade fever and aches for one to two day. The spray is approved for use in people without chronic illness from age five to 49 and are not pregnant. Side effects include runny nose, headache, sore throat and cough, she wrote.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Web site, about 36,000 people die each year in the U.S. from the flu and about 200,000 people are hospitalized from flu complications. Anywhere from five to 20 percent of the population gets the flu, depending on the year, Jacques wrote.

Possible pandemic

In 1918, the world experienced a pandemic called the Spanish Flu where thousands died. Health officials are concerned because recently discovered avian flu is much like the Spanish Flu, Maartmann-Moe says. There was a two percent death rate for the Spanish Flu, and there is currently a 59 percent death rate for the avian Flu, she says.

“It’s a big if, but if the virus starts transmitting from human to human, we expect it will start in South East Asia, and have cases in America within a month,” she said.

If this is to happen, 30 percent of the population could be sick, and there is no vaccine and limited treatment for the virus, Maartmann-Moe says. Colleges are currently preparing for the pandemic flu, and most are planning to close if it comes to the U.S. to protect students and the public, she says.

The University of Arizona and the University of North Carolina have plans posted on their Web sites if a flu pandemic is to occur, she says. St. Michael's is also part of an emergency preparedness plan devoted to pandemic flu and infectious disease outbreaks.  A committee was formed and the plan was developed last year, Jacques wrote.

It is recommended that anyone wishing to reduce their chances of getting the flu get vaccinated. Certain people should get vaccinated either because they are at high risk of having serious complications or because they live with or care for high risk persons, Jaques wrote. Those who are over 65 are at an even higher risk highly advised as well as all healthcare providers, and college students, Maartmann-Moe says.

Last year approximately 200 staff members and 450 students got vaccinated on campus. There is currently no fee at St. Michael's, but if prices of the vaccine continue to rise, there may have to be a small fee, Jaques wrote.

It is especially recommended that people get vaccinated next season so they are at least protected against the seasonal flu, and could help identify if it could be pandemic, Maartmann-Moe says.