WASHINGTON For the second year in a row, federal officials and professional societies are urging health care providers to administer influenza vaccination beyond the traditional months of October and November.
A record number of doses will be available, they said at a press briefing highlighting persistent gaps in vaccination coverage for the most vulnerable populationschildren and the elderly. The officials also encouraged providers to be more aggressive in offering pneumococcal vaccine to patients over age 65.
Influenza leads to 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations each year. It disproportionately affects the very young, and those with chronic disease. For instance, influenza may trigger up to 92,000 cardiac deaths per year, according to the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, which sponsored the briefing.
Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that manufacturers are on track to deliver about 132 million doses of influenza vaccine this season, which would be the largest amount of vaccine ever produced. Although manufacturers could run into problems delivering those doses, as has happened in the past, "every indication is that the supply is not going to be the rate-limiting step for us," she said.
The biggest hurdle in raising vaccination rates is misperceptions among providers and patients, she and others noted during the briefing.
Many patients mistakenly believe that influenza vaccination causes illness. "It does not cause flu in any way, shape, or form," Dr. Gerberding said, calling on physicians to help dispel this myth.
Influenza vaccination rates are below goal for high-risk patients aged 18-49 (30%), healthy adults aged 50-64 (37%), and all adults over age 65 (69%), according to data from the 2005-2006 flu season, which was presented by Dr. Jeanne M. Santoli, deputy director of the Immunization Services Division at the CDC's National Center for Immunization. During the 2005-2006 flu season, only 21% of children aged 6 months to 2 years received the two doses required for full vaccination coverage. The rates were published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (2007 Sept. 21;56[37]:9539).
CMS Acting Administrator Kerry Weems pointed out that Medicare recipients can receive flu shots free of charge. Medicare reimbursement for the shots will increase 5% in the upcoming season, to %13.22 for the most-used version and %17.37 for the preservative-free shot. The administration fee, which will be %19.33 in 2007, has not yet been calculated for 2008, Mr. Weems said.
Dr. Ardis Hoven, an infectious disease specialist and member of the American Medical Association's Board of Trustees, urged providers to extend their time frame for vaccination. Health care providers typically focus their vaccination efforts during October and November, but influenza usually peaks in February. Doses often remain available after November but go unused.
In 2006, 120 million doses were produced and 102 million were distributed, Dr. Santoli said.
"Health care professionals and their patients must work together to make sure every opportunity to discuss influenza immunization… is used," Dr. Hoven said.
Health care workers, including physicians, have almost the lowest rates of vaccination. The CDC does not have data for the 2005-2006 flu season, but over the 10 previous seasons, only about 40% of health workers were vaccinated annually, Dr. Santoli said.