According to their website, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is calling the current flu vaccine shortage "one of the worst in 10 years."

Here in Grayson County, health officials aren't sure how this will impact the county.

According to Sue Vincent of the Grayson County Health Depart-ment, "healthy people most likely won't be getting flu shots this year."

The health department plans on following the guidelines and criteria laid down by the CDC in determining who can receive the flu vaccine.

There were flu vaccinations scheduled for October 20, 21, 22 at the Saint Joseph Parish Hall in Leitchfield, but they have been cancelled as a result of the shortage.

The vaccinations planned for October 18 at the Grayson County Health Department are still going forward as planned, and beginning Monday (Oct.11) people can call the health department to schedule appointments for the flu vaccinations.

They are reminding everyone however, that they will be following the criteria set forth by the CDC in their administration of the flu vaccine.

The health department has ordered around 2,000 flu vaccine shots for the coming flu season, and according to Vincent, "we will be receiving our full amount."

As reported on their website, the CDC was notified on October 5 by the Chiron Corporation that none of their influenza vaccine would be available for distribution in the United States for the 2004 and 2005 flu season.

The Chiron Corporation reported that the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the United Kingdom, where Chiron produces its Fluvrin vaccine, has suspended the company's license to manufacture the vaccine in its Liverpool facility for a period of three months.

This will prevent any release of this vaccine for the coming flu season.

The suspension reduces by about one-half the expected supply of trivalent inactivated vaccine (flu shots) available in the United States.

The remaining supply of the flu vaccine expected to be available in the United States this season is around 54 million doses of Fluzone (inactivated flu shot), which is manufactured by Aventis Pasteur, Inc.

Of these 54 million doses, nearly 30 million have already been distributed by the manufacturer.

In addition, approximately 1.1 million doses of live attenuated influenza vaccine (FluMist nasal spray), manufactured by Medimmune will be available this season. As a result of this urgent situation, the CDC, along with its Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices (ACIP), is issuing a set of recommendations and criteria for vaccination for the coming flu season.

They have established priority groups for the Influenza Vaccination.

Members of this group include:

All children between the ages of six months and 23 months; adults aged 65 years and older;

Persons between the ages of 2 years and 64 years who have an underlying chronic medical condition;

Residents of nursing homes and long-term care facilities;

Children between six months and 18 years on chronic aspirin therapy;

Health-care workers involved in direct patient care;

And out-of-home caregivers and household contacts of children around the age of six months.

All those who are not included in one of the priority groups are being asked to forego flu shots this year and not attempt to get the vaccination.

According to a news release from the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), "our immediate focus will be on making sure that the supply we do have reaches those who are most vulnerable."

"We will need the help of the public, the public health community, and the medical community to make sure that the vaccine goes to those who truly need it the most."

For all of those healthy people not included in one of these priority groups, the CDC recommends the nasal-spray flu vaccine as an acceptable alternative.