Americans may soon feel Canadian flu pinch

"For those Americans who still want to come up and get vaccine, I would say the sooner they can get up here, the better," said Ray Christopherson, manager of the Travel Medicine and Vaccination Center, a private clinic with four locations near Vancouver.

Vancouver Island Vaccines, the private clinic offering vaccinations to Clipper passengers at the Inner Harbour ferry terminal in Victoria, recently learned they won't be receiving an expected 2,000 doses, according to Darrell Bryan, vice president and general manager of Clipper Navigation, Inc.

"They can't get their supply," Bryan said.

Other clinics near the border say customers from the United States are burning through their supplies. And some aren't receiving all the doses they ordered.

Dr. Paul Assad, from the International Travel Health and Vaccination Clinic, said he ordered 4,000 more doses of vaccine from ID Biomedical, a Canadian vaccine manufacturer, in early October after learning about the U.S. shortage.

At Assad's clinic in Surrey, five minutes from the U.S. border, between 300 and 350 Americans are coming in for flu shots every day, making up 90 percent of his customers.

"Two days ago, they told us all of a sudden it's not there," said Assad. "My question to them was how come it was there and then it wasn't?"

Representatives from ID Biomedical could not be reached for comment yesterday.

The ferry's flu deal, a promotion launched last week, has captured national media attention as elderly people, some in wheelchairs or using walkers, board the high-speed catamaran for a 2 1/2-hour voyage bound for the elusive influenza inoculation.

Jack and Rosie Jones rode the Clipper on Monday. The Tacoma couple planned to sneak in flu shots before taking off for their annual winter trip to Desert Hot Springs, Calif. With retirees from all over flocking to the sunny spot, the Jones' figured there'd be no chance of finding vaccine.

"They're smart making money off us Yankees," said Jack Jones, 71.

Canadian health officials are quick to point out their stock of vaccine for individuals at high risk of dangerous complications from the flu -- including the elderly, very young children and people of all ages with serious health conditions -- is plentiful. Provinces in Canada buy vaccine for their at-risk residents (which is provided free), while private clinics order their own supplies for healthy adults who are willing to pay for shots.

The British Columbia Ministry of Health Services has distributed 900,000 doses of vaccine for high-risk residents.

"Private entities will not dip into that public supply," said Viviana Zanocco, spokeswoman for the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, which received 300,000 doses for at-risk residents.

Meanwhile, federal officials said yesterday they've identified 5 million doses of flu vaccine from ID Biomedical and Germany that could help backfill the U.S. shortage created when tainted supplies from a British manufacturing plant were withheld from the market.

About half the United States' vaccine supply was lost.

"Absolutely not," said Secretary of State Tommy Thompson when asked whether looking outside the country for additional doses contradicts the Bush administration's policy against reimportation of prescription drugs.

"This vaccine is going to be inspected by (Food and Drug Administration) inspectors."

The Clipper, which has booked just under 2,000 flu-shot excursions over the next several weeks, had planned to continue taking reservations through at least mid-December.

About 1,000 passengers have traveled to Victoria for their vaccines so far, with another 300 expected to take the trip today and tomorrow.

Bryan said he's spoken with several private clinics in the Vancouver area that might be able to provide vaccine for Clipper passengers after mid-November.

"I've been working all day on other sources," Bryan said.

Christopherson, of the Travel Medicine clinic, said he's not bothered by the number of Americans coming to Canada for flu vaccines.

If private supplies run out, "The (Canadians) who are potentially going to be out of luck are young, healthy adults who don't qualify for a free shot but want to get one anyway," said Christopherson, who has made a deal with a tour company in Bellingham to bring Americans across the border for shots.

"The majority of people who are coming up from the U.S. are high-risk."

P-I reporter Julie Davidow can be reached at 206-448-8180 or juliedavidow@seattlepi.com

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