Innoculation schedule for seniors has been set back
By: Courtney Gross
Because of a delay in the distribution of flu vaccine, the Princeton Regional Health Department is rescheduling one clinic and requiring pre-registration for another until its full supply has been received, possibly in December.
Princeton’s vaccine provider, Pennsylvania-based Sanofi Pasteur, notified the Health Department this week its flu vaccine distribution is three weeks behind schedule, Princeton Health Officer David Henry said.
That has forced the department to reschedule clinics and borrow 100 vaccines from the University Medical Center at Princeton to vaccinate some of the area’s chronically ill and elderly, he added.
"It’s just a development and distribution process," Mr. Henry said. "It is troubling, given the fact we’re trying to provide this service."
The first clinic, slated for Nov. 1 at the Princeton Senior Resource Center, will require pre-registration, and it will also cap at 400 individuals. The second clinic, scheduled for Nov. 8, has been postponed until December, Mr. Henry added.
The department, which ordered its vaccines almost 10 months ago, has received 300 vaccines out of the 1,000 it ordered from Sanofi Pasteur, a subsidiary of Sanofi Aventis, Mr. Henry said. The additional 100 vaccines borrowed from the medical center, he added, will be replaced when the final shipment arrives.
Compared to previous years, many believed flu vaccines were in abundance. In previous years, Mr. Henry said, shortages left the Health Department scrambling.
At the Princeton Regional Health Commission meeting Tuesday evening, members were dismayed by the delay. Sanofi’s inability to meet its schedule, Mr. Henry said at the meeting, will have a "devastating" effect on Princeton’s flu clinics.
"I really am disappointed with all the resources and expertise in this country," Mr. Henry added.
Sanofi Pasteur spokeswoman Patricia Tomsky said the 50 million doses the company is scheduled to distribute in the United States are in the final testing stages and are on track. Ms. Tomsky said the influenza strain mutations this year were more drastic than normal, which caused the distribution delay. These mutations do occur every year, she added.
Ms. Tomsky also said the company’s supply is more than adequate and a third of its doses have already been shipped. The company should complete shipping the vaccines by the end of November, she added.
"We are continuing at full capacity," Ms. Tomsky said. "We also had that situation in our initial forecast," she said of the virus mutations.
To pre-register for the Nov. 1 clinic, call (609) 497-7608. The vaccine will cost $10 and residents must be over 65 or have a chronic illness, such as heart disease or diabetes, to receive the vaccine. To locate another clinic, visit www.findaflushot.com.
Also at Tuesday’s meeting, the Health Commission had a preliminary discussion on the possible consolidation of health departments at the county level a proposal under consideration by the state.
Commission members agreed Mercer County’s Health Department the last county department to be formed in the state needs to be responsive to local needs. Right now, members said, the department is nonfunctioning.

