Vaccine Shortages May Disrupt WANADA Flu Shot Program

Vaccine Shortages May Disrupt WANADA Flu Shot Program

After weeks of urging dealers to sign up for WANADAês in-dealership flu shot program, we regret to inform you that, like most area clinics and medical facilities, our flu shot provider, Norvar Health Services, is faced with a severe shortage of flu vaccine and may be forced to curtail scheduled flu shot operations until more vaccine is available.

The vaccine shortage is the result of contamination at Chiron Corp, a British company that supplies up to half of U.S. flu vaccines, for a loss of up to 48 million doses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have asked healthy Americans, young and old, to refrain from seeking flu shots so the most vulnerable people could be given priority.

Norvar reports that it will continue to administer shots to WANADA dealers through this Wednesday, but the vaccine will be limited to the number each dealer has guaranteed at each location, with no add-ons. At this point, however, none of our dealers will receive further shots from NORVAR, which must await further word from the CDC. As of this writing, the CDC has suspended any activity by suppliers in the U.S.

WANADA also is attempting to secure “flu mist” as a substitute for the shots.Flu mist is more expensive than the shot, but we don’t know what our cost will be yet. WANADA will stay on this project and update dealers as more information becomes available. For the most current updates, contact John OêDonnell at WANADA, (202) 237-7200.