December 3, 2003 TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) -- An official at one of the state's largest flu clinic operations said the firm has been forced to cancel its shot clinics because of a lack of vaccine.
"There's a frenzy out there, with all the reports of a bad flu season. We're having a great deal of difficulty getting vaccine," said Beverly Watts of the Mollen Clinic in Phoenix. "We've used it all up. We've had to shut down all our shot clinics throughout the state."
After running public shot clinics daily in the Tucson area since October, Mollen canceled all December clinics, leaving only a handful left to offer protection against what some say is the earliest and worst flu season in 30 years.
"People are filling up doctors' offices and emergency rooms. It struck children first, and now it's moved into adults. It's everywhere," said Dr. Elizabeth MacNeill, Pima County's chief medical officer.
Although influenza has been reported in at least six Arizona counties to date, it has spiked first and most severely in Pima County, said Dr. Bob England, the state's epidemiologist.
"That won't last long. We expect to see it (in Phoenix) at that level in about a week," he said.
Doug Hauth, spokesman for Maricopa County's health department, said that there have been 127 confirmed cases of influenza through Tuesday.
The number of confirmed cases has nearly doubled from late last week, he said.
Despite its prevalence, doctors say they are seeing "typical flu" among Arizona patients.
"It's hitting hard -- it looks big right now in Tucson -- but we have not seen some of the primary complications of influenza that can be life-threatening," said Dr. Eskild Petersen, adult infectious disease specialist at University Medical Center.
The emergency room at St. Joseph's Hospital has experienced a 25 percent increase over last year -- from 4,445 to 5,579 patients -- blamed on flu.
Between six to eight elderly patients daily have been hospitalized and put on ventilators to help them breathe, a hospital official said.
At Tucson Medical Center, the majority of youngsters who arrive daily in the pediatric emergency department are suffering from flu, said Dr. Ronald Salik, medical director.
Despite the 70 to 75 children treated for influenza, Salik said that "the need to hospitalize has been rare. We have been able to send almost all of them home."
Copyright 2003 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
