Flu Vaccine Available
(Chiyoda-ward, Tokyo on Feb.5)
There was a notice read, "Flu vaccine available only for the first 6 arrivals" on the front door of a physician's office in Chiyoda-ward,
Tokyo.
Influenza is spreading across the country again this winter, though it can't compare with last winter when there were nearly 1.27 million patients, the highest record so far in the past decade. But it is said that 30%-odd of the patients diagnosed as flu in this January were adults of 20 or more and this is three times as many as usual.
And many people have died from its group infection in each nursing home and the like. So the number of people who want to get a shot of vaccine has increased throughout the country. But flu vaccine is out of stock.
Vaccination for kindergarteners, school children and junior high school students became optional from obligatory in 1994 due to a question about vaccine effect and a concern about side effect. Therefore manufacturers have downsized their vaccine-production system.
What if there is a sharp rise in demand? It takes a couple of months just to produce.
Manufacturers are not likely to produce more for fear of loss on returned surplus stock of vaccine.
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