Mitzi Schmidt, a doctor at Intermountain Health Care's Mountain View Pediatrics in Sandy, predicts flu clinics held the first two weeks of October and November will be busy.
"We're getting geared up," she said. "I expect the demand will be higher because of the bad flu season last year."
In Utah last year, the flu season ran from October to May 12, with 6,340 influenza cases reported to state and local health departments. There were 10 reported flu-related deaths.
No one can predict whether the season will hit hard and early like it did last year - with many cases reported in November nationally and in Utah - or whether vaccines will run dangerously low again.
Nationwide, health providers have ordered a record 100 million doses of flu vaccine this year, federal officials said. Doctors, clinics and hospitals throughout Utah will begin giving vaccinations next month.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, fewer than half of the Americans in the higher risk categories - the young, the elderly and the chronically ill - are vaccinated.
On Thursday, the CDC unveiled new guidelines calling for annual flu shots for healthy children 6 months to 23 months, and for parents and siblings who live with a child under 2.
"Children 6 to 23 months are vulnerable because they get complications from influenza more frequently than other age groups," Schmidt said.
"They can get pneumonia or become dehydrated quickly," she said. "The rate of hospitalization is higher for that age group."
Children in that age range need two doses of the vaccine given four weeks apart. Mountain View Pediatrics has placed flyers around its office and is calling parents of children who have asthma or congenital heart disease, which puts them in a high-risk category.
The CDC began encouraging shots for youngsters 6 months to 23 months of age in 2002, but only 4.4 percent were fully vaccinated that year.
Each year, 36,000 Americans die of the flu, and another 200,000 are hospitalized. Most of the 152 children who died last year nationwide had not been vaccinated.
Some parents worry about vaccinating their children because most flu vaccines contain thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative. Some believe the substance may lead to developmental problems or autism, although that is unproven. Iowa has banned thimerosal under pressure from parental lobbying.
The University of Utah Hospital and Clinics, IHC clinics and the health department ordered thimerosal-free vaccines intended for babies. Thimerosal is still in most vaccines targeted to older children and adults.
Health providers warn against skipping flu shots because of the perceived threat.
"The risk of getting sick from the flu is very high compared to the risk of thimerosal," said Christina Beckwith, a drug information specialist at the U.
chamilton@sltrib.com
