Surgeon General Says No Shortage of Flu Vaccine

The nation's top doctor hit the road to prescribe patience for Americans waiting to get their flu shots.

The U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona was in Columbia Saturday to disspell what he calls "myths" about the flu vaccine.

The Surgeon General says there is no shortage of flu vaccine at all, and if this year is like every year, unused flu vaccine will be thrown away at the end of the season.

Carmona says news of the "so-called" vaccine shortage has driven at-risk Americans to line up for shots much earlier than normal.

In a press conference Saturday afternoon, Carmona wanted to stress that the flu season has just begun and likely will not peak in the South until January.

Healthy adults have been urged to skip vaccinations.

Carmona says those considered at greatest risk, the very you, the very old and people with chronic illnesses, will be able to get flu shots as more become available.

Surgeon General Carmona said, "We're in the very, very beginning of the flu season. There is no epidemic, there is no crisis. There's no emergency. There's no reason to get in long lines because there is no vaccine in one place that will serve a line of thousands of people."

Carmona says right now 61 million doses of the vaccine have been produced, but only half of that has been given out across the nation.

Starting immediately 3 million doses will be given out per week.

As to how many doses our state will get of that 3 million is up to how much state and local health officials, such as D.H.E.C., ask for.