KANSAS TO RECEIVE 75,360 DOSES OF FLU VACCINE FROM CDC
State to Distribute Doses According to KDHE Redistribution Plan

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) expects to receive nearly 75,360 doses of flu vaccine from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from mid-November to mid-January. The CDC worked with flu vaccine manufacturer Aventis Pasteur to ensure that vaccine not yet shipped would be redistributed nationally.

After evaluating where the vaccine had already been shipped and working with states to determine the high-risk population needs, CDC and Aventis have determined that approximately 11 million doses of vaccine remain. Of this, three million doses are going to go to fill state contracts in their entirety. The remaining eight million will be redistributed to state health departments for individuals at high risk for severe complications from the flu.

"Every local health department in Kansas will be given an opportunity to receive additional flu vaccine from mid-November to mid-January," said Sue Bowden, KDHE Immunizations Director. "However, the amount will vary depending on how much vaccine has already been shipped to a county and what the remaining needs of the high risk population in that county are."

"We believe CDC's plan to redistribute the remaining doses of unshipped vaccine to all states will help to ensure more high risk Kansans receive a flu shot and are better protected from influenza this year," said Richard Morrissey, KDHE Interim Director of Health.

Recommendations for Providers and Individuals:

KDHE recommends any provider who still needs flu vaccine, contact their local health department. The state will have the vaccine shipped to the local health department and by working with the medical community, the local health department will determine how to distribute the vaccine to best reach the high-risk individuals in the area.

Any individual who is considered at high-risk for complications of the flu (see CDC guidelines below) should listen for further local information regarding the arrival of additional flu vaccine in their community.

Flu Activity in Kansas:

Kansas is reporting sporadic influenza activity and this is usual for this time of year. January is often the peak month for flu season in the state, and in some years, the peak is even later. Some of the additional vaccine is expected to arrive in January.

Flu Vaccine Redistribution Plan:

Next week, KDHE will ship 1,830 doses of flu vaccine made available by six state universities that agreed to receive a smaller amount of vaccine and allow KDHE to purchase their remaining order. The vaccine was provided according to KDHE's redistribution plan and went to six counties (30 to 600 doses per county). These counties had not received enough vaccine to provide for even 10 percent of their high-risk population.

The KDHE redistribution plan is to ensure that there is a minimal level of vaccine coverage in every county and that no county would go completely without vaccine. The first priority of the state to make sure that every county has had enough vaccine shipped to them to cover 20% of the estimated high-risk population.

If there are remaining doses to redistribute after that, vaccine would be allocated and shipped to local health departments using a formula based on an estimate of the county population still at need as a proportion of the total state population at need.

Population at need was derived from the estimates of the total at-risk population in each county. From that is subtracted out the total doses of vaccine shipped to each county, by county.

KDHE Provider Survey:

KDHE is requesting that doctors and other health care providers continue to provide updated information regarding flu vaccine supplies and needs to their local health department, since local distribution decisions will be made at that level. The county health departments will then communicate with KDHE so that cross-county distribution can be accomplished. This will allow the distribution of vaccine to the areas of greatest need.

Due to the vaccine shortage, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has provided guidelines for health care providers to follow regarding vaccination of high-risk individuals only. High-risk individuals are as follows:

• People 65 years of age and older
• Children ages 6 months to 23 months
• Adults and children 2 years of age and older with chronic lung or heart disorders including heart disease and asthma
• Pregnant women
• Adults and children 2 years of age and older with chronic metabolic diseases (including diabetes), kidney diseases, blood disorders (such as sickle cell anemia), or weakened immune systems, including persons with HIV/AIDS
• Children and teenagers, 6 months to 18 years of age, who take aspirin daily
• Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities
• Household members and out-of-home caregivers of infants under the age of 6 months (Children under the age of 6 months cannot be vaccinated.)
• Healthcare workers who provide direct, hands-on patient care with regular frequency to the priority group patients listed above

Other vaccination recommendations:

Healthy persons who are 5-49 and not pregnant, including healthcare workers (except those who care for severely immuno-compromised patients in special care units) and persons caring for children under 6 months should be encouraged to be vaccinated with, intranasally administered live, attenuated influenza vaccine (FluMist).

Vaccination of Persons in Non-Priority Groups:

Persons who are not included in one of the priority groups above should forego or defer vaccination.

Steps the public can take to avoid catching or spreading the flu:

• Proper hand washing with soap and warm water is extremely important.
• Stay home from school or work when sick.
• Cover the mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing.

For more information regarding flu vaccine and steps you can take to protect yourself from the flu please go to: www.kdheks.gov/flu/.

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