As the flu outbreak worsened statewide Thursday, Douglas County officials said they received about 250 doses of vaccine and would dispense them Saturday to those at high risk of serious complications from the illness.

“We had some orders placed, and we just didn’t know if they were going to get filled,” said Barbara Schnitker, director of nurses for the Douglas County Health Department. “Because of everything going on across the country, there were no guarantees.”

The Health Department had given about 6,700 flu shots before running out of vaccine Monday. Similar shortages have occurred throughout the state and nation.

Thanks to the arrival of the 250 doses, the Health Department again will give shots starting at 10 a.m. Saturday at its clinic, 200 Maine.

But Schnitker said only people deemed at risk of serious complications from the flu would be given the vaccine. That includes children from 6 months to 23 months old; people 65 or older; pregnant women in their second or third trimester; and anyone with a chronic health condition, such as diabetes, asthma or weakened immune systems.

Statewide efforts

Meanwhile, state health officials were calling on doctors to redistribute dwindling supplies of vaccine and set up a Web site and toll-free number to coordinate the efforts.

“We want to make sure that those who need the vaccine the most can still find it,” said Dr. Gianfranco Pezzino, state epidemiologist.

Carolyn Gaughan, executive director of the Kansas Academy of Family Physicians, urged doctors to participate in the effort.

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“It’s the right thing to do, and it’s the right opportunity,” she said.

By late Thursday, though, no doctors had offered to give up any vaccine while several had requested more vaccine, state officials said.

Health officials said the flu season in Kansas started earlier than usual and had been more aggressive. Two flu-related deaths have been reported so far. About 1,600 people die annually in Kansas from complications caused by the flu.

“We’ve got a lot of influenza throughout the state,” said Gail Hansen, deputy state epidemiologist.

The Lawrence school district reported student absences have increased dramatically from 930 on Tuesday to 1,591 on Wednesday, though they said that could have been attributed to the snow and icy weather.

Cases spreading

State officials said there was no way to estimate the total number of cases in Kansas but upgraded the outbreak from “regional” to “widespread” based on information from health care workers throughout the state. Widespread is the highest level. Pezzino added, “We shouldn’t assume that the outbreak has already peaked.”

Nationwide, 25 states reported widespread outbreaks and federal officials scrambled to secure more vaccine. About 83 million doses had been prepared for the United States based on past experience.

The federal Centers for Disease Control said it was trying to buy vaccine in England and other European countries to handle the current outbreak. It also was looking at ways to avoid shortages in the future.

“Well, we are certainly looking at options that would help us have a surge capacity to add more vaccine to the system if we needed to,” said Dr. Julie Gerberding, the CDC’s director. “Obviously, the manufacturer is not eager to make more than they need if they have to throw it away and lose money on it. So one of the options is for the federal government to either purchase vaccine or to guarantee that if there’s unsold vaccine, that we would pay a price for it, to protect the manufacturer.”

But Gerberding said, “It’s not a decision at this point in time. We all have to recognize that it will be expensive, because most years we will throw away vaccine.”