Health department officials in the Baltimore region said they expect to have enough flu vaccine shots to go around this season, and most will begin offering the shots this month.
Howard County has ordered 10,000 doses of flu vaccine in the form of shots and the inhaled mist, about 2,000 more than last year.
Adults, especially the elderly, and children ages 6 months to 5 years old, are among the groups who can benefit from a flu shot, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC said 100 million doses of flu vaccine will be distributed nationwide this year, 19 million more than last year.
Anne Arundel County Health Department spokeswoman Elin Jones said it is impossible to predict how severe this year?s flu season will be until it begins.
“Some years we?ve had our first reported cases in September, but other years it?s started much later,” Jones said.
Anne Arundel County health officials said they have ordered more than 20,000 doses and will begin distributing them at the health department Oct. 17.
Baltimore County has ordered 4,000 doses and will begin offering shots in early November. Carroll County health officials said the county will begin doling out its 7,500 doses of flu vaccine Oct. 20.
Some departments said they have already received their requested dosages.
Anne Bailowitz, chief of child health and immunization for the Baltimore City Health Department, said the city had ordered about 7,000 doses.
“But there?s always the uncertainty of whether we will receive all that we asked for,” she said.
The city?s first flu shot clinic will be Wednesday at Lexington Market for the first 100 people.
For more info
To find a nearby flu shot clinic, call 410-313-6503.
