Michiganians clamor for swine flu vaccine

Clinic at The Palace draws hundreds as state health officials add six to H1N1 death toll

Kim Kozlowski / The Detroit News

Want to get the swine flu vaccine? Get in line.

The virus is rampant. The vaccine is scarce. Oakland and Macomb county health departments are only holding mass clinics to administer the vaccine. Wayne County is taking appointments, but the wait is so long that the next available appointment isn't until January.

State health officials are recommending residents call their doctor but they don't know how many physicians have the vaccine. The Michigan Medical Society also doesn't know how many providers have gotten the vaccine, and some residents say their doctors don't have the shot.

That's why Sumitha Atluri waited in line for an hour and a half at The Palace of Auburn Hills to get the shot for her children.

"I called their doctor but she doesn't know when she is going to get it," said Atluri of Troy. "You keep hearing a lot more about these (swine flu) cases. I just wanted to get them vaccinated and keep them safe."

Six more people have died as a result of H1N1, including a 6-month-old, Michigan Department of Community Health officials said Thursday. They reported 16 deaths Monday, but increased that figure to 22 since Sept. 1.

Even so, chances of dying from swine flu are similar to those of seasonal flu, which kills an estimated 1,200 people a year in Michigan, said Gregory Holzman, state chief medical executive.

At the same time, health officials say that there is much more flu activity now because most people don't have immunity to the strain.

Since Sept. 1, there have been 190,000 reported cases of flu-like symptoms -- three times the 58,504 cases reported last year at this time. Last week alone, nearly 60,000 cases were reported, a third of the cases reported so far.

In Michigan, 47 schools were closed and 485 reopened as of Thursday; only a few have closed in Metro Detroit. Two schools are closed in Oakland County, and one school has closed and reopened in Wayne and Macomb counties.

Meanwhile, residents are trying to get the vaccine.

"Pregnant women and children under 2 and children with chronic diseases are not served well by waiting in line for the vaccine," said Charles Barone, vice president of medical affairs at Children's Hospital of Michigan. "By the time we get enough vaccine, every one will have (the virus)."

Michigan's allocation for the vaccine increased to 1.2 million doses, just under the 1.5 million doses the Centers for Disease Control estimated would be in the state by mid-October.

"The demand is greater than the supply and that continues," Holzman said. "In time the state will we will be able to meet the demand."

But Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, declined to predict when adequate vaccine would be available at a briefing before Congress this week. He also said "it is quite likely that the current wave of influenza will peak, crest and begin to decline before there are ample supplies" of vaccine.

Right now, the vaccine is only being given to high risk groups including pregnant women, youths age 6 months to 24, those with underlying health conditions and health and emergency workers.

kkozlowski@detnews.com (313) 222-2024 Associated Press contributed.