[NVIC] Iowans ignore mumps vaccine drive

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" Protecting the health and informed consent rights of children since 1982. "

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BL Fisher Note:

Vaccines, like any other product sold in a free enterprise system, should

be subject to the law of supply and demand. If Iowans choose to roll up

their sleeves and get another dose of mumps vaccine, that is their right. If

Iowans say " no thankyou " to mumps vaccine - for whatever reason - that is

their right.

No citizen of any state should be expected to get vaccinated in order to

financially underwrite product sales for a drug company marketing vaccines.

Increasingly public health officials appear to be more concerned about

ensuring a healthy profit margin for vaccine manufacturers than giving

health care consumers complete and accurate information about the benefits

and risks of vaccines so consumers can engage in informed decision making.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060504/NEWS08/

605040391/1001/RSS01

The Des Moines Register

May 4, 2006

Vaccine stockpile mostly unused in mumps drive

Health officials aren't sure why so few college-age Iowans took advantage of

clinics.

By TONY LEYS

REGISTER STAFF WRITER

Thousands of doses of mumps vaccine remain in health-clinic refrigerators

across the state, because relatively few college-age students showed up for

shots last week.

Several counties still have 90 percent or more of the vaccine they were

given to help stem the state's befuddling mumps epidemic.

Overall, fewer than 20 percent of the shots were administered last week, a

Des Moines Register survey found.

" I don't know why. Maybe people aren't taking it seriously, " said Barbara

Baker, director of Des Moines County's Public Health Department.

Baker's southeast Iowa county held three shot clinics last week, during the

main push to vaccinate 18- through 22-year-olds. Her agency gave out just 38

of the 400 doses it received from a federal stockpile.

" I expected far more than that, " Baker said.

Public-health officials are trying to rein in an epidemic that has caused

1,273 illnesses in Iowa so far this year. The mumps outbreak, which has

spread to other states, is the largest the country has seen in decades.

The Iowa vaccination effort was expanded this week to all 99 counties, and

state officials increased the potential pool of participants by raising the

maximum age from 22 to 25. County health officials said a few more people

are coming in for shots, but the agencies still are sitting on large

supplies.

The vaccine is recommended for people who either haven't had two doses or

aren't sure if they have. Doctors say a third shot won't hurt people, but

probably won't help stave off the disease. Many Iowa colleges require

students to have two doses before they start classes, which helps explain

why relatively few young people showed up for shot clinics last week.

Several county health leaders noted that college students tend to be very

busy this time of year as they finish the spring semester.

" Sometime last week, they pulled out their syllabus and realized, 'Huh, I've

got a 25-page paper due,' " said Ralph Wilmoth, director of the

County Health Department. County, which is home to the University of

Iowa, used 262 of the 1,300 doses it received from the state.

Although most people infected with mumps suffer only minor symptoms, the

disease can cause serious complications, including sterility and deafness.

More than half of the people who have become ill in the recent outbreak have

had two mumps shots. Public-health leaders say that is to be expected,

because up to 10 percent of vaccinated people remain susceptible. However,

they say, the vaccine should be able to help stem the epidemic.

Teale, a spokesman for the Iowa Department of Public Health, said the

state sent out 12,500 more doses of vaccine last week to the 64 counties not

included in the original distribution. The vaccines were free or offered at

a low cost.

Teale acknowledged state officials hoped for better participation in last

week's clinics.

" We think there are people in that age range who are out there who still

need to get vaccinated, " he said.

Teale said unvaccinated students who leave campus after taking their final

exams should consider getting shots once they arrive home.

Teale said the statewide vaccine shipments were based on estimates of how

many college-age students resided in each county. The state lacked solid

data on how many of those people already were inoculated with two doses of

vaccine, he said.

In Polk County, Health Department spokesman Rick Kozin said he was pleased

that his agency used 517 of the 3,600 shots it received from the federal

stockpile. He said the experience helped local health agencies practice the

techniques they would need to use if more serious public-health threats

arise.

If the surplus of vaccine continues, Teale said, Iowa might consider lifting

the program's age restrictions or sharing its supply with other states. The

shots also could be used for children, he said. The vaccine lasts a year or

more if it is refrigerated, he said. " It's not something we have to use

tomorrow or else it expires. "

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