Flu season? What flu season?

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Flu season? What flu season?

Have you noticed the media are not hyperventilating over the flu season?

Nor is anyone else, it seems.

By this time last year, the media were chock-a-block with stories of flu vaccine shortages.

The City of Plainfield had conducted MULTIPLE flu clinics at the Senior Center and had cooperated with doctors and health care providers to make sure enough vaccine was available throughout the community

This year?

When someone inquired of PT where and when clinics were to be held, I scurried to find out what was going on.

Not much, it seems.

In fact, November 27 to December 3 was National Influenza Vaccination Week. Did you even know? Didn't see ANY buzz from the City about it.

There are no flu clinics planned for the Senior Center, PT was told. The reason? PT was told that Seniors objected to paying for shots, so they were bused to Runnells, where vaccines were administered by the County, presumably at no -- or less -- charge.

That may be fine for the 1,500 or so registered members of the Senior Center, but what about the rest of the 4,500 or so Seniors in the community? Not to mention the other populations considered prime candidates for the vaccine, such as infants and toddlers? (The CDC recommends vaccination for 218 million of the total 300 million population in the country.)

According to the New York Times, there are an average of 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations per year from the flu. No small potatoes.

And consider this -- many more flu vaccines are available this year as a result of last year's shortages and the accompanying publicity.

Further, if the available flu vaccines are not sold off by the manufacturers while there is still time, they will suffer a loss in profits based on their projected sales. That means that they may plan to produce LESS vaccine for next year's season.

And that is without regard to whether next year will be a severe season or not, which cannot be known until the time approaches.

Mr. Smith's invisible hand gets a real workout here!

If you have not yet had your flu shot and want to get one while there is still time (they can still be gotten into early January), call your health care provider or the Plainfield Health Department at (908) 753-3092 for more information.

-- Dan Damon

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