Still time to get a flu shot, if you can find one

Lab tests show all of the flu circulating in Iowa is the H1N1 virus - good news for anyone unable to get a seasonal flu shot yet.

But finding vaccine is a mixed bag.

Michael Pentella, associate director of University Hygienic Laboratory, said surveillance is showing no seasonal flu in Iowa.

The lab, based at the University of Iowa's Oakdale campus, conducts testing for the state's surveillance sites and tests for patients hospitalized with respiratory illness.

Pentella could not reveal figures, but said the lab is still getting a “very high” volume of specimens for testing.

State epidemiologist Dr. Patricia Quinlisk said seasonal flu has started showing up in other states.

Flu usually begins circulating in Iowa after Thanksgiving, increases after the holidays and peaks in late January or early February, she said.

That means Iowans should still have time to get a flu shot, if they can find one.

While more venues are offering H1N1 vaccine for an expanding number of priority groups, there is still a shortage of seasonal flu vaccine.

Seasonal flu shots do not protect against H1N1 flu, which requires a separate vaccine.

Some of the delay has been attributed to manufacturers focusing on vaccine distribution for H1N1 flu, because that is the flu in circulation.

The Visiting Nurse Association in both Linn and Johnson counties suspended their flu shot clinics until more vaccine becomes available.

As of Monday, those clinics had not been rescheduled.

Rani Shen Elkin, a pharmacist at A Avenue Pharmacy in Cedar Rapids, said the pharmacy nearly ran out of vaccine during seasonal flu shot clinics earlier this month and does not plan to hold more clinics.

“We've had a lot of people from all over the state come to get flu shots,” she said. “They're just glad we had it.”