Flu Vaccine Shortage Leads Health Experts To Recommend Alternatives

 By Kaaren Valenta

The shortage in the nation’s flu vaccine supply could prevent many people from getting shots this year, but there are plenty of things that can be done to ward off the virus or shorten its duration.

Dr Karim Nazer, medical director of Danbury Health Care Affiliates, a member of the Danbury Health System, says that good hygiene is still the best preventative.

“Avoid close contact with people who are sick,” she said. “When you are sick, keep your distance from others to protect them from getting sick, too. Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze — and dispose of the tissue immediately afterward. If you don’t have a tissue, cough or sneeze into your sleeve. Wash your hands after you cough or sneeze — with soap and warm water, or an alcohol-based hand cleaner.”

“We’ll tell you the same stuff your mother taught you,” said Dr Louise Dembry, director of hospital epidemiology for Yale-New Haven Hospital. “You have to remember the basics, especially when it comes to washing your hands. We pick up viruses and germs just from touching a doorknob or shaking hands with a friend.”

 Dr Dembry and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provide these tips on staying healthy even if you cannot get the shot:

Wash your hands often, especially when preparing food, before eating, after using the bathroom, after playing with a pet, before and after caring for a sick person, after changing a diaper, and after sneezing or coughing. You should wash your hands with soap and warm water for at least 15–20 seconds or with alcohol-based disposable hand wipes or gel sanitizers that can be used without water.

Avoid touching your eyes, nose, or mouth. Germs are often spread when a person touches something that is contaminated with germs and then touches his or her eyes, nose, or mouth.

Visit your doctor right away if you experience signs of the flu including muscle aches, fever, and respiratory congestion. If you do get sick, minimize your exposure to others by staying home from work or school.

Avoid visiting the hospital if you have an infection. If you are visiting a patient in the hospital and have a cough, sore throat, sneezing, or runny nose, ask a nurse for a paper mask to cover your nose and mouth.

One alternative to the flu shot is to get FluMist, a nasal spray flu vaccine that requires a prescription.

There are some limitations though, according to pharmacist Richard Gubbiotti at the Drug Center Pharmacy in Newtown. “FluMist can only be given to healthy people between the ages of 5 and 49 years, so that leaves out younger children, the elderly, and persons at high risk for flu complications,” he said. “It isn’t for people with chronic diseases. There is also a somewhat limited availability of it.”

FluMist is not recommended for health care workers taking care of severely immunocompromised patients, and cannot be given to pregnant women. Like the flu vaccine, it should not be given to people who have allergies to eggs.

Mr Gubbiotti said four antiviral drugs are generally prescribed by physicians when people do get the flu: oseltamivir (Tamiflu); Zanamivir (Relenza); rimantadine (Flumadine); and amantadine (Symmetrel).

 “All the antivirals can help shorten the duration of the flu but they are not preventative,” he said. “They must be taken within about two days after the flu symptoms begin.”

For prevention, strengthening the immune system is the best solution, he said, especially since even the flu vaccine often does not protect against all of the different flu viruses. That means practicing good hygiene, getting enough rest, drinking plenty of fluids, and eating right, he said.

“Echinacea with goldenseal helps boost the immune system. Eat a couple of cloves of raw garlic a day. Try the herb astragalus,” he said “Foods like Brazil nuts and walnuts are good for you as are salmon and yogurt. There are lots of good articles in magazines like Prevention.” 

Dr Joshua Berry, a naturopathic physician with the Hawleyville Naturopathic Medical Center, said the homeopathic vaccine Dolivaxil is a preventative that, like the flu vaccine, is made from what health officials believe are the most likely strains of viruses to pose a threat each year.

Dolivaxil is dissolved under the tongue once a week for four weeks, then a final dose is taken three weeks later, he said.

If a person feels the onset of flu symptoms, oscillococcinum can help, he said. “It’s not a preventative, but is very helpful if it is given at the first signs of the flu.”

Dr Berry also recommended vitamins, zinc as a mineral, Echinacea, elderberry, astragalus, and lots of vitamin C to keep colds at bay, “about 1,000 units two or three times a day, especially if you feel you are coming down with the flu,” he said. “But I tell my patients to back off if the high doses cause diarrhea.”

Jodi Chittem, owner of Sunwheel Health Foods in Monroe, said some of her customers would not ever consider getting a flu shot. They rely on natural products and immune boosters to ward off infections, she said.

Sunwheel sells oscillococcinum, which does not require a prescription, as well as other homeopathic products. Ms Chittem recommended that persons who want more information on homeopathic products check the website www.boiron.com.

It is always a good idea to also check with your doctor, or one who specializes in herbal medicine, before trying supplements or remedies.

Persons who have questions about this season’s flu vaccine should talk to talk to their primary care physicians, but the general guideline is that healthy people between the ages of 2 and 64 will not be eligible for the vaccine unless the shortage eases.