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It's unclear when the Springfield-Greene County Health Department will get the 5,000 doses of seasonal flu vaccine it ordered. This changes the health department's plans to offer the seasonal flu vaccine before the arrival fo the H1N1 vaccine. KSMU's Missy Shelton reports.

The seasonal flu vaccine shipment for the Springfield-Greene County Health Department has been delayed. So, the health department has canceled its public seasonal flu clinics that had been scheduled for October 5th through 12th. Jaci McReynolds is spokesperson for the health department. She explains why there’s a delay.

McReynolds says, “We received word from our vaccine provider that we would be experiencing a delay in shipment of our seasonal flu vaccine this year.  Apparently there’s been a shift in their focus from producing the seasonal flu to producing the H1N1 vaccine.”

Not only is the shipment delayed but McReynolds says the Springfield-Greene County Health Department may not get the 5,000 doses it requested.

McReynolds says, “It’s possible we won’t receive our full shipment as well. That information is still being determined. We’ll just have to wait for more information from them. What we want to do is encourage people to go ahead and follow those disease prevention methods we’ve been talking about: the good hand washing, keeping a distance from others who are sick. And it’s important for people to stay home when they’re not feeling well.”

McReynolds says there’s uncertainty every year about when the seasonal flu vaccine will arrive at the health department. But this year, that’s more of a problem.

McReynolds says, “This year, it’s very inconvenient because we had planned on doing the seasonal flu shot clinics before the H1N1 vaccine arrived. So we’ve had to adjust our plan accordingly.”

The vaccine for H1N1 flu is expected to be shipped in mid to late October. McReynolds says there’s no indication when the seasonal flu vaccine will arrive at the health department. But the seasonal flu vaccine is now available at area hospitals and pharmacies.

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