The shortage of flu vaccine striking the state and nation hitBrookhaven Tuesday when the local health department’s supplies ranout.

“We gave out our last doses this morning,” said Nelline Reed,office manager of the Health Department’s Brookhaven clinic. “Wefeel bad about having to turn people away.”

The clinic received a new shipment of the vaccine Friday, butReed estimated more than 300 doses have been given since then.

“There was quite a push (for the vaccine) after the media beganwarning of the early season and its possible severity,” she said.”One thing we’re seeing more of this year is children. That’s agood thing.”

State health department officials are especially encouragingchildren, the elderly and health care providers to get the vaccine,Reed said, because they are more at risk or work closely with thosemost at risk.

Children are more at risk because of the school and day careenvironments. Day care centers especially are high risk areas forchildren, she said, because of a young children’s habit of puttingitems in their mouth.

“The day cares do a mighty good job protecting the children, butwhen they’re small it’s hard,” she said.

The Brookhaven clinic has given out more than 3,000 doses of thevaccine this year, but she was not sure when the clinic wouldreceive more supplies.

“We don’t know,” Reed said. “The last order had been ordered twoweeks ago, and we didn’t get what we ordered. We ordered 1,000doses and only received 200.”

The office manager said she was not sure if vaccine wasavailable elsewhere in the area, such as at physicians’ offices,but she doubted it.

“From what people are calling and telling us, they’ve beenunable to locate it anywhere else,” she said.

Reed encouraged people to contact the health departmentperiodically to check on the availability of the vaccine.

“That’s all I know to tell them,” she said.

Doctors this year have been surprised and overwhelmed by thenumber of children with severe flu complications, according to anAssociated Press report. Of particular concern is the rise of adrug-resistant staph infection that is complicating efforts totreat them.

Dr. Tim Uyeki, epidemiologist with the influenza branch of CDC,said Monday that some children have died from the staph infections- a phenomenon the CDC has not seen before.

Flu complications for children have always been dire: pneumonia,kidney and heart failure, possible brain damage. Flu and itscomplications are the sixth leading cause of death nationally amongchildren age 4 and younger, according to the CDC.

From Texas to California, children’s hospitals have been swampedwith sick children – many of them desperately ill.

The waiting room at Children’s Hospital Central California inMadera was standing room only during the Thanksgiving holiday.Hospital officials called the crowding an epidemic for thatfacility and said nearly every child tested positive for theflu.

Children’s Medical Center in Dallas has seen more than 500 kidswith the flu since October. One day last week, two dozen moreappeared, most with enough lung disease to be put on ventilators,said Dr. Jane Siegel.

Colorado Springs hospitals have discouraged other kids fromcoming to the hospital in fear they will catch the virus. In thatstate six children have died of the flu.