Portland experiences vaccine shortage

Production of the H1N1 vaccine is behind schedule, but more doses will be coming in the following weeks, according Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Multnomah County currently has no doses of the vaccine available.

According to Mary Beth Collins, executive director of the Center for Student Health and Counseling, it is unlikely that Portland State will have the H1N1 vaccine available before late November.

No vaccination clinics are scheduled in Multnomah County at this time and, so far, all vaccine doses have been available only to pregnant women and young children.

In Multnomah County, hospitalizations from swine flu have increased from 26 cases between Sept. 1 and Oct. 13, up to 124 cases as of Oct. 30.

“It appears that the majority of people hospitalized are pregnant women and children under five,” Collins said.
This is frightening news for those who missed the earlier clinics and people with underlying health conditions such as asthma, heart disease or a weakened immune system.

“The one year I skipped the flu shot in over 20 years, I ended up in the hospital,” said junior Rebecca Price.
Other students are worried about the impact being sick could have on their academic progress.

“I think that when we look at the potential for a person to lose academic loans because they cannot complete a class due to swine flu, it becomes ridiculous that our campus is not having these clinics,” said senior David Green. “To have something like the flu potentially impact your ability to complete college is a really scary thought.”

According to the CDC’s 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine supply status Web site, 186,500 doses of the vaccine were shipped to Oregon on Oct. 28. It remains to be seen how many of those doses will be available to high-risk Portland State students.