Flu Vaccine Still in Demand in Rhode Island
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Health officials say there's a steady demand for flu shots in Rhode Island. They're not ready to follow Massachusetts in lowering the age eligibility for healthy adults. Massachusetts has lowered the age of eligibility from 75 to 65 for adults, but Rhode Island officials are keeping the higher age for eligibility to ensure the highest-risk people get shots.
The shortage of vaccine has eased in some states, but The Providence Journal reported on Tuesday that demand still exceeds supply in Rhode Island. "Rhode Island acts differently than a lot of other states," Health Department spokesman Robert Marshall said. "We're still getting hundreds of calls a day on the Family Health Helpline. We're still organizing community clinics." Vaccination clinics, which require registration, are meeting steady demand, Marshall and others said.
A flu-shot clinic in Burrillville on Monday attracted about 140 people, according to Nancy Roberts, chief executive officer of the VNA of Care New England, the agency that administered the shots. The VNA expected 150 or 160 people. So far, there have only been scattered cases of flu in Rhode Island.
Federal guidelines recommend flu shots for people age 65 and older and with chronic illnesses, but many states narrowed the eligibility to make sure that the most vulnerable people got the shots. Massachusetts lowered the age of eligibility from 75 to 65 after securing 1.3 million doses of flu vaccine -- about 200,000 more than the previous year. Rhode Island has gotten about 200,000 doses this year, and more is expected.
Last year an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 people received flu vaccine in the state. In Rhode Island, the state usually buys vaccine only for children. That order was eventually filled and health officials believe that most high-risk children have been vaccinated.
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