Health officials say they don’t foresee a repeat of last year’sflu-vaccine shortfall looming this season, although distribution ofthis year’s vaccine has been delayed.

“We anticipate anyone wanting to get a vaccine this year will beable to get one, and those anticipating getting them this fallshould be able to do so,” said Liz Sharlot, communications directorfor the state Department of Health.

However, Sharlot added, she has received notification from theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta thatmanufacturing problems have caused distribution delays for thevaccine throughout the United States.

“Typically, October and November are the big months that wenormally recommend people come in for their vaccinations,” shesaid, “but, like all the other states throughout the country, we donot anticipate receiving our entire shipment until sometime inOctober.”

The delay should not pose a problem, Sharlot said, because theHealth Department plans to work an “accelerated schedule withextended hours and weekends during November. We’ll even relocatestaff across the state to see that those demands are met. We’regoing to do whatever we need to to accommodate people who want toget their shots.”

The first reported cases of flu in Mississippi usually appear inJanuary, she said, so the slight delay in distribution should notleave residents unprepared for the onset of flu season. It onlytakes the body about 10 days to build up an immunity to the flufollowing a vaccination.

Last year, a combination of factors contributed to majorshortages of the flu vaccine across the U.S. Among those factorswere a manufacturing shortage of the vaccine and the evolution of anew variant of the virus, which was not completely intercepted bythe vaccine.

Sharlot said she did not expect those problems to develop thisyear.

The Health Department inoculated more than 152,000 residentslast year, setting a record for flu vaccinations in Mississippi.This year, the department ordered 183,000 doses of the vaccine toavoid another shortage.

New variants are rare, she said, and not expected to causetrouble again this year. Vaccines are typically based on thestrains that were prevalent the prior year.

“We can’t predict what kind of flu season we’ll have, but we canpredict how we’ll prepare,” she said.

Sharlot also encouraged high-risk residents, such as the elderlyand those with compromised immune systems, to receive a pneumoniashot while getting their flu vaccines.