The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department has purchased 170 doses of flu vaccine from Kansas University at a cost of $8.32 per dose — or about $1,414.

The 170 doses were left over from 700 flu shots KU offered to students, faculty and staff members last week during a clinic.

Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department spokeswoman Janelle Martin said department officials would announce Nov. 18 what they will do with the additional doses.

“We are also checking in with other area physicians and pharmacies to see how many doses they have left,” she said. Martin said some area physicians and pharmacies planned to sell remaining doses of flu vaccine to the health department if they had any left by mid-November. She said the health department was trying to pull together enough doses to have a flu-shot clinic.

“We do hope to pick up some additional doses,” she said.

The nation’s flu vaccine supply was cut in half in October when British regulators shut down shipments from Chiron Corp., which produced millions of flu shots earmarked for the U.S. market.

The shortfall has caused the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to pull back shipments of flu vaccine and redistribute them, in addition to recommending that only people at greatest risk for complications associated with the flu be vaccinated.

Whether additional doses for the health department would come from area physicians and pharmacies or through the CDC is unknown. Nothing is concrete, Martin said.

Kansas University’s Watkins Health Center officials had considered giving the extra vaccines to retired KU faculty and staff members. But Cathy Thrasher, chief pharmacist for Watkins, said they decided the local health department could better assess the needs of the community as a whole.

“While we appreciate the years of service of KU retirees, they are not active employees, and we felt that the health department is looking out for the health of the entire community,” she said.

Thrasher said Watkins was keeping fewer than 30 doses of flu vaccine on hand, and how long the vaccines will last is unknown.

“This is an ongoing situation,” she said. “I know this has been a very stressful situation for the American public. I think everybody is working to try and make sure we reach everyone who is in a priority group.”