FDA warns against unauthorized flu shots
The demand for flu shots in a time of shortages appears to have led to the peddling of unlicensed vaccines.
The Food and Drug Administration announced last week that it was investigating an attempt by an unlicensed company to sell flu vaccine in this country. Florida officials had alerted the FDA after the company offered to sell the state 500,000 doses.
The federal agency, along with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has asked doctors and clinics to be on the alert for any sellers offering vaccines that haven’t been licensed for sale in this country. The agency is trying to prevent efforts to take advantage of the shortage.
At the same time, the health department in Washington state asked the FDA to check into a vaccine that was being administered by a registered counselor at a Bellevue clinic who wasn’t licensed to give injections.
Although several flu vaccines are manufactured worldwide, this year the FDA has licensed only three for use in this country: the injectable vaccines Fluzone, made by Aventis Pasteur Inc., and Fluvirin, made by Evans Vaccines, a subsidiary of Chiron Corp.; and the nasal spray vaccine FluMist manufactured by MedImmune Inc.
Because a health consumer can’t tell whether a vaccine is approved for sale in this country, it’s best to obtain a flu shot or FluMist spray from a licensed health-care provider, such as a doctor, nurse, pharmacist or medical clinic.
So far, L.A. County health officials haven’t received reports of anyone offering unlicensed vaccines.
Dr. Alvin Nelson El Amin, medical director of the county’s immunization program, is urging people to contact their regular health providers, whether that’s a primary care doctor, a county clinic or neighborhood health center, to determine if they have the vaccine.
“That’s the best protection they have,” he said. “It’s dangerous to get anything from someone who is not licensed to handle the product. One thing we can do to help people is to make them aware that it’s a risky thing to do.”
The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services still has a small amount of vaccine left, but it’s being reserved for those people at highest risk of flu complications, including the elderly, those with asthma and other chronic diseases and children ages 6 months to 23 months.
As of Dec. 20, the CDC reported that flu activity nationwide continued to increase, although it was still dropping off in Texas and Colorado, which were hit very hard earlier in the season.
A total of 45 state health departments, including California, reported widespread influenza activity, four states reported regional activity and one state reported local influenza activity.
