Supply of H1N1 flu vaccine now exceeds demand
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
01/17/2010
Now that the H1N1 vaccine is widely available, health departments can’t give it away.
In a reversal of policy, the city of St. Louis and the St. Charles County health departments announced last week that they would hold free public clinics to distribute the vaccine.
Both departments originally had their allotted vaccine sent directly to doctors’ offices and pharmacies, which charged about $20 for the shot.
“There are providers that have quite a bit of vaccine left over,” said Cameron Satterfield, spokesman for the St. Charles County Health Department. “We have surplus vaccine that’s been returned to us.”
The department will now offer free shots to county residents at its immunization clinic. The H1N1 vaccine was paid for by the federal government, and every public health department received federal funds to distribute it. Jefferson, St. Louis, Madison and St. Clair counties started offering free shots last fall.
Officials in the city of St. Louis, which received $1.1 million, said they spent most of their money on administering the shots to city schoolchildren.
Two weeks ago, city health officials said they didn’t have the staffing or facilities to hold free public clinics for residents.
“I wish we had the luxury of being able to pull our staff off from our routine operations, but we just did not have the staffing to do that,” city health commissioner Melba Moore said at the time. “It was a tough decision.”
On Saturday, the city hosted a free clinic at Vashon High School.
Neither Moore nor the director of the City of St. Louis Department of Health, Pamela Rice Walker, could be reached to explain the change in policy.
For information about obtaining flu shots, see the website www.flu.gov.