Washington-area health departments are reporting a surplus of flu vaccines, raising concerns residents aren’t ready for the seasonal virus.
Meanwhile, a study released this week by Trust for America’s Health indicates that five years after the attacks of Sept. 11 and the anthrax tragedies, the District of Columbia ranks in the bottom quarter of states in preparedness for disease, disasters and bioterrorism.
Half of the states scored six or less on the scale of 10 indicators. D.C. was one of nine states that scored a five. Maryland was one of four states that scored the lowest with four out of 10.
D.C. is below the national average for the number of adults above the age of 65 who have ever received a pneumonia vaccination. Fifty-eight percent of D.C. residents received their annual shots, the second fewest in the country behind Nevada, according to the report. Virginia had 68 percent and Maryland had 64 percent. The shots are one indicator of how prepared a state is for an emergency that requires vaccines.
D.C. health officials ordered about 30,000 doses of flu vaccine in time for the winter flu season, but have administered about half. The Montgomery County health department still has about 10,000 doses, said nurse-administrator Cindy Edwards. She said the warm weather may contribute to the low turnout.
“There hasn’t been the panic,” Edwards said.
But that could change, she said, with news of a new strain or an epidemic. Two years ago, reports of children in Colorado dying from flu complication sent residents into a frenzy and the vaccine was wiped off the shelves, she said.
“We could be back to that point at any time,” she said.
Flu season lasts from November to April. It spreads mostly through coughing and sneezing, and can be spread by touching a surface with the virus on it and then touching one’s eyes, nose or mouth. Seasonal flu is marked by upper respiratory symptoms such as coughing and sneezing, fatigue, muscle aches, fever and headaches.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this story.
