Government attempts to divert flu shots to those most at risk

WASHINGTON — The government moved Tuesday to direct scarce remaining flu shots straight to pediatricians, nursing homes and other places that care for the patients who need them most.

But only a fraction of the 22.4 million doses that maker Aventis Pasteur has yet to ship can be diverted to areas with the biggest shortages. And officials acknowledged Tuesday that even if planned rationing goes well, there will be high-risk patients who struggle to get shots but can't find them.

"We're sorry for the people who need flu vaccine and may not be able to get it this year," said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "But we will take every step that we can take to get an equitable distribution of vaccine as quickly as we can."

The targeted shipments come as CDC struggles to ensure that the youngest, oldest and sickest Americans — those most vulnerable to influenza — have first access to flu shots now that the nation's supply has been cut in half.

U.S. officials are scrambling for ways to make up the shortage.

Food and Drug Administration officials turned to Canada's major influenza vaccine producer in an effort to acquire an estimated 1.5 million extra doses.

Dean Linden, spokesman for ID Biomedical of Vancouver, British Columbia, said negotiations were "an evolving story."

"But . . . it's by no means a slam dunk that we're going to be to delivering flu vaccine into the United States this year," Linden said Tuesday from Vancouver.

Gerberding called "heroes" those healthy adults heeding CDC's plea to forgo flu shots this year. But, "shame on the people who are price-gouging," she said, pledging to help state officials prosecute those caught doing so.

There have been scattered reports of price gouging since the shortage was announced, and Kansas filed a lawsuit Tuesday against Meds-Stat, a pharmaceutical distributor. Attorney General Phill Kline said Meds-Stat proposed selling the vaccine to a pharmacy in Kansas City, Kan., last Friday for $900 per vial; a week earlier, the company was selling the vaccine for $85 per vial. Each vial contains about 10 doses.