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| Connecticut receives shipments of flu vaccine |
| 2004-10-30 |
| Thousands of doses of the flu vaccine have started to arrive in Connecticut, and by next week the state should have enough shots to vaccinate many of the most at-risk people, state officials said Friday. Because of the national shortage, the state will only receive 77,570 doses, about half of what it ordered. All shipments should arrive in the state by early next week, Gov. M. Jodi Rell said. "We will get the shots to those most in need, and we'll do it in the fastest, safest way possible," Rell said. The doses are being shipped from Aventis Pasteur directly to 100 local health agencies and visiting nurses associations. It is up to them to decide when to distribute the vaccine, said Bill Gerrish, a spokesman for the Department of Public Health. State officials estimate there are about 600,000 high-risk people in Connecticut who need flu shots. Health officials estimate that between 800,000 and 1 million Connecticut residents received a flu shot last year from either public health departments or private doctors. The state is also pursuing a lawsuit against a Florida company accused of price-gouging Connecticut hospitals for supplies of vaccine. |
| Posted by:Mark Espinola |