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News release: Colorado - Denver/BoulderOctober 5, 2004 For more information, call: Flu vaccine supply concerns force Kaiser Permanente to change plans on who gets flu shots Denver, CO – A concern with the nation's flu vaccine supply has prompted Kaiser Permanente to limit flu shots for only those at most risk of contracting influenza. One of the two companies that make flu vaccine announced today it will not distribute vaccine this year. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is determining how to distribute the remaining vaccine. As a result, Kaiser Permanente will provide flu shots only to high-risk members. Those people at high risk include people who are 65 and older, children between 6 months and 23 months old, caregivers of children less than six months, persons with diseases of the heart and lungs including asthma, persons with diabetes, pregnant women and health care workers with direct patient care. Healthy individuals have another option to protect themselves from the flu. FluMist is a nasal vaccine that can be given only to healthy individuals aged 5 to 49. Kaiser Permanente expects to have FluMist available to members at the end of October. Influenza is a highly contagious illness that is spread from person-to-person, primarily from coughing and sneezing. Besides getting the flu shot or nasal vaccine, people also can protect themselves from the flu by practicing other infection-fighting measures such as washing their hands, using antibiotic hand washes, use tissue when coughing or sneezing and staying home from work or school when feeling sick. Kaiser Permanente will hold a second flu shot clinic this Saturday, Oct. 9; however, flu shots will be limited to only high-risk members. The clinic runs from 8 a.m.to 2 p.m. at all of the Kaiser Permanente medical offices in the Denver metro area except the Boulder medical offices. High-risk Boulder patients are encouraged to attend the flu shot clinic at the Baseline medical offices of Mohawk Dr. Kaiser Permanente is a non-profit health plan and the largest private health care provider in Colorado. It is rated among the top ten accredited health care organizations in the country for clinical quality by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Kaiser Permanente cares for more than 416,000 members in the Denver/Boulder and Colorado Springs areas. Kaiser Permanente physicians and care teams focus on prevention as well as curing disease, all in an effort to help patients live well and thrive.
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