A flu vaccine clinic held at the Bromfield School Oct. 6 ran out of the high-dose flu vaccine—recommended for people aged 65 and older—in the first 20 minutes. The clinic, run by the public health arm of the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health, delivered 30 of the high-dose shots as part of the 300 total vaccines it administered at the four-hour clinic. “We gave more shots in Harvard than ever before,” said Jim Garreffi, director of public health for the associated boards, in an Oct.13 phone interview.
The shortage of high doses at the Bromfield clinic, however, does not reflect a widespread shortage, according to the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Despite delays in shipment of “some formulations” of both privately purchased and state-supplied vaccine, the department “anticipates sufficient supplies to meet demand for the season,” according to a department spokesman.
One problem with supply is that flu vaccine must be ordered months ahead of time. “It’s hard to anticipate nine months in advance, though we did order 20% more [than in 2019],” said Garreffi. Getting additional high-dose vaccines—which cost the clinic $50 each—is “nearly impossible,” he said, noting that the high-dose vaccine had been used up at each 2020 clinic so far. A reason for the apparent shortfall could be that even a public health entity like the associated boards must compete on the open market against pharmacies and large health care networks. “These doses are all privately purchased; the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) has no role in their allocation,” said the director of MDPH’s immunization division, Pejman Telebian, referring to the high-dose vaccines. Only pediatric vaccines are supplied to private and public entities by the state, he said.
The possibility of a “twindemic,” where the COVID-19 pandemic collides with the seasonal flu and overwhelms the health care system, may also have driven demand for flu vaccine, Garreffi speculated.
Connie Larrabee and Maria Day were among those who encountered the high-dose shortfall at the Oct. 6 clinic; both stepped out of a long line and returned home without their shots after learning that only the standard doses remained. Larrabee arrived just 15 minutes after the clinic began, securing a place in line while her husband, Bryce, looked for what turned out to be an unnecessary parking spot. By 5 p.m., the couple was on the road again, following up on a friend’s tip that the Townsend Walgreen’s had just received a shipment of the high-dose vaccine; they were vaccinated and home by 6:30 p.m. Day, who arrived at 3 p.m., was advised by the public health nurse at the Bromfield clinic to attend the next day’s flu clinic in Lancaster, where she got her vaccine without needing to wait in line. Others interviewed for this story said they had no trouble obtaining a high-dose flu vaccine from their regular providers.
Getting the high-dose shots from pharmacies appears to be a game of luck. On Monday this week, the West Acton Pharmacy was out of flu vaccine entirely but hoping for additional shipments after daily contact with its suppliers. The CVS pharmacy on Mass. Ave. in Acton had the vaccine, but the pharmacy employee who answered the query said, “It doesn’t last long.” In Clinton, both the Rite Aid and Walgreen’s pharmacy departments said they had the high-dose vaccine, though at 2 p.m., Walgreen’s was down to seven doses.
“Let your fingers do the walking” is perhaps the best advice for anyone old enough to need the high-dose vaccine (and therefore able to understand the admonition).
Additional flu clinics will be held by the Nashoba Associated Boards of Health in Bolton, Ashby, Boxborough, Berlin, and Townsend; go to www.nashoba.org for more information.
