Vaccine deliveries lag as Vienna expects an early flu wave

Flu vaccine shortages are still affecting some doctors’ surgeries in Vienna as the city prepares for an influenza wave that virologists expect to arrive earlier than usual, ORF reported.

Nearly 17,000 people in Vienna were off work last week with flu-like infections, while 361 were off work with influenza. The flu wave has not yet begun, but the first sporadic cases have appeared about four weeks earlier than usual, said Monika Redlberger-Fritz, a virologist at the Medical University of Vienna. She said the wave could arrive in December.

Redlberger-Fritz said now was a good time to get vaccinated because it usually takes two weeks for protection to develop. The vaccine is recommended for everyone aged six months and over.

Naghme Kamaleyan-Schmied, vice-president of the Vienna Medical Association, said demand for vaccination was strong but some practices still lacked supplies. Her surgery was short of vaccine for older people. She had heard that the vaccine for children was already in Austria, but said it was not reaching doctors’ offices in time, leaving patients frustrated.

The Health Ministry said all ordered influenza vaccines had arrived in Austria and that outstanding orders were being processed. It said it could not confirm logistics problems with Fluenz, the nasal spray vaccine for children, and expected vaccines to reach doctors’ offices in the coming days.