Health clinics get shot in the arm as flu vaccines eventually arrive

With winter just around the corner, public health concerns are rising over a shortage of flu vaccine.

“Compared with previous years, influenza vaccines have been slow to arrive,” Li Zhi, an official with Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Thursday.

The good news is that health authorities have now procured vaccines from a supplier in Henan Province to ease the shortage, with the first batch arriving Thursday.

“In the past, flu jabs were available in the city from October to February. This year, we expect inoculations will be available at community health service centers and hospitals from early December,” said Li.

In July, major supplier Changchun Changsheng was found to have fabricated records, and modified its production process without authorization. Problems with other suppliers have compounded the problem, leading to a severe shortage nationwide.

Changchun Changsheng, based in Jilin Province, previously supplied about a sixth of the country’s flu vaccines, but production has been suspended. Beijing’s Sinovac Biotech, another major vaccine maker, has stopped manufacture of flu vaccines because of an internal corporate dispute.

Media reports during last year’s flu season said that Sanofi Pasteur was abandoning sales of vaccines because of decreased efficacy.

The National Institutes for Food and Drug Control have approved around 13 million flu jabs so far this year, about half the number it had approved by the same time last year.

The shortage is blamed on a decrease in supply.

“This year, four companies won bids to supply flu vaccines to Shanghai, but only one is able to deliver,” Li said.

In past years, vaccines were so plentiful that some were returned to the producers almost every year, she added.

Riding to the rescue has come Hualan Bio, a supplier from Henan. Another supplier in Dalian, Liaoning Province, is providing vaccines for children, Li said.

Some community health centers and hospitals claim not to have received any flu vaccines at all this year.

Baoshan Road community health center in Jing’an District said no influenza vaccines have been delivered at all this year so far, with the first batch expected in December.

Dapuqiao community health center in Huangpu District has not receive any and say supplies are “probably due next week.”

Parents are worried.

Gu Jinhua was told by three health service centers that no vaccine was available as she attempted to procure a jab for her 2-year-old son.

“I went to Hong Kong after waiting two weeks,” she said.

The prices of vaccines in Hong Kong have risen from 350 Hong Kong dollars (US$45) to 400 because of increased demand, said Gu.

A few hospitals and health centers have received vaccines, but in small quantities.

Jiahui International Hospital in Xuhui District received supplies yesterday, but in very limited quantities. They warned residents that what they have will run out quickly.

The hospital said its clinic in Yangpu District expected to receive vaccines today, but more than 100 applicants had signed up to a waiting list in the last two months.

“Winter and spring are the danger seasons for flu,” said Chen Wei, a doctor with Ruijin Hospital. “Headaches, fever and respiratory infection are the main symptoms.”

To avoid contacting flu doctors advise a strict hygiene regime: hand washing, wearing masks, good ventilation. A good night’s sleep and proper exercise will also help.