Flu shots alert

Get your flu shot now, but only if you are in a high-risk category. Others should wait until the third week in November because there is a temporary shortage of flu vaccine, says Dr. Dora Mills, director of the Maine Bureau of Health.

High-risk people include anyone over 65; any younger people with chronic health problems such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, cancer, kidney disease and HIV-AIDS; women who will be at least three months pregnant in the flu season, and front-line health care workers.

Dr. Mills says one of the vaccine suppliers is temporarily unable to fill Maine’s order but expects to do so by later this month. The flu season usually hits in about January, but the U.S. Centers for Disease Control says peak months in the past 19 flu seasons have varied among December, January, February and March.

The delay in vaccine supplies affects even the high-risk category, so you may have to shop around. To check on vaccine availability and the locations of flu clinics, call 1-800-867-4775 or go to www.state.me.us/dhs/boh/mip/indexhome.htm on the Internet.