Faced with a continuing and unpredictable shortage of vaccine against the seasonal flu -- remember that? -- New Jersey yesterday suspended enforcement of its first-in-the-nation mandate that children be immunized before enrolling in a licensed preschool or child-care facility.
"We are strongly encouraging parents to have their children get the vaccine," Heather Howard, commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services, said in a conference call with reporters. But given widespread reports of shortages, she said, it made no sense to enforce the mandate.
The separate vaccine for swine flu was never part of the mandate, but Howard said people should continue trying to get that vaccine as well.
Both vaccines are in short supply nationwide, in part because manufacturers cut short production of seasonal-flu vaccine to focus on the swine-flu vaccine, which has taken longer than expected to manufacture.
New Jersey's seasonal-flu mandate has been followed closely by other states and the federal government as it was developed and phased in, with enforcement scheduled for the first time this school year.
Young children are known to be major players in the spread of flu, particularly in schools and day care. And the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, whose recommendations usually are followed nationwide, in recent years has added younger and younger children to the list targeted for the annual seasonal-flu vaccine.
But the decision to require proof of an annual vaccination before children ages 6 months to 59 months could be enrolled in licensed child-care or preschools was controversial. The regulation was adopted in 2007, but enforcement was phased in.
Yesterday, Howard made clear that the mandate was being relaxed just for this year and only because seasonal vaccine is in short supply.
"Our message is still the same," she said: Parents should try to get their children immunized against seasonal flu.
Many private practices have run out of the vaccine, and some drugstore chains and county health departments have had to cancel clinics after announcing them.
But others still have enough.
The Gloucester County Department of Health and Senior Services, for example, has seasonal-flu clinics scheduled, one this morning in Thorofare and others at several locations in the coming weeks, including one Dec. 7 in Clayton that is just for children in licensed day care or preschool. (Call 856-218-4141 or go online.)
The Philadelphia Department of Public Health has continuing walk-in clinics for both swine- and seasonal-flu vaccines throughout the city (215-685-6458 or online).
Details of these and other clinics are posted at http://go.philly.com/flu/
In swine-flu news yesterday:
Gov. Rendell told reporters in Harrisburg that if federal projections hold true, the Pennsylvania Department of Health expects to be able to make swine-flu vaccine available in the near future to people who are not members of the priority groups that have been targeted so far.
The Montgomery County Health Department scheduled a walk-in swine-flu clinic for priority groups on Dec. 3 in Lansdale.
Howard said that about 1.4 million doses of vaccine had been distributed in New Jersey and that "ultimately everyone will be able to get H1N1 vaccine" -- but that more specific predictions were impossible because not enough has been received for the most vulnerable groups.
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Contact staff writer Don Sapatkin at 215-854-2617 or dsapatkin@phillynews.com.
Inquirer staff writer Amy Worden contributed to this article. To see more of The Philadelphia Inquirer, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.philly.com/inquirer. Copyright (c) 2009, The Philadelphia Inquirer Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
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