FLU SHOTS COULD BE RATIONED.

Byline: Brent Hopkins and Troy Anderson Staff Writers

Half the flu vaccine destined for the United States was scrapped Tuesday because of tainted manufacturing processes, leaving as many as 46 million Americans without immunization entering the first month of the flu season.

Health officials in Los Angeles said limited supplies will have to be rationed, targeting the elderly, children, pregnant women and those with immune deficiencies.

``If you're high risk, you need to get immunized immediately,'' said Dr. Pejman Salimpour, a pediatrician who heads the Sherman Oaks-based First 5 LA Connect, a medical information source. ``They need to get the vaccine as soon as possible before we start running out ... in December when everyone starts running to their doctors.''

British regulators shut down Chiron Corp.'s plant in Liverpool, preventing shipment of its Fluvirin vaccine. Only one other company, Aventis Pasteur, mass-produces the vaccine.

Los Angeles County provided 130,000 doses last year at its 180 clinics, with Chiron supplying the vast majority, county Public Health Officer Dr. Jonathan E. Fielding said Tuesday.

``Unfortunately, 100,000 of those doses slated for this year that we get through the state came from Chiron,'' Fielding said. ``We also ordered 30,000 doses from the other manufacturer, and we've received roughly half of those to date, so we have roughly only 15,000 of those on hand. We expect to get the rest of that, but we don't have a specific date.''

Last year, 36,000 Americans died from flu complications. Health officials said that without mass doses of the vaccine, basic steps like washing hands and staying home when sick can curb a flu outbreak.

Fielding said he may order schools and businesses closed if serious outbreaks occur.

``I don't mean to alarm anybody, but these are things we're going to have to consider,'' he said.

While several local hospitals ordered early or from smaller sources, the sudden shortage caught others off-guard. West Hills Hospital ordered 2,400 doses from Chiron to use on its staff and at a dozen workplace clinics, all of which have now been postponed.

``Chiron's saying, hey, those 46 million doses we were going to ship, forget about it,'' said Anthony Antonelli, pharmacy director for West Hills Hospital. ``It's a crisis.''

Though the hospital had calls out to other suppliers to scare up more supply, Antonelli held out little hope because so many hospitals and clinics find themselves with similar shortages.

The Kaiser Permanente group, whose 11 clinics and hospitals planned to go through 700,000 shots, ordered early and has received the majority of its supply. While Dr. Stanley Shapiro, co-chairman of the chain's adult immunization task force and an infectious disease physician in Panorama City, said his organization had some breathing room, he still expressed concern.

``We've received the majority of our order already, but things may change,'' he said. ``The government may ask health care organizations to reallocate supply, which we'll watch very carefully. This is a potentially very large part of the supply.''

Brent Hopkins, [phone]

brent.hopkins(at)dailynews.com

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U.S. FLU VACCINE SUPPLY CUT IN HALF

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

Associated Press