Vaccine stockpile mostly unused in mumps drive

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http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060504/NEWS08/605040391/1010 ZOOM HOLLY McQUEEN/THE REGISTERNurse Sue Boley shows boxes of unused measles, mumps and rubella vaccine, or MMR, stocked in a cooler at the Polk County Health Department on Wednesday. About 80 percent of the doses statewide have yet to be used. Mumps in Iowa Public-health officials are trying to slow down an epidemic that has caused 1,273 cases of mumps so far this year in Iowa. The outbreak is the largest the country has seen in decades. ZOOM 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 Copyright 2006, Des Moines Register and Tribune Company May 4, 2006 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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