Newswise — The American Society of Health-System Pharmacists has conducted a survey of more than 2800 hospital pharmacy directors in the U.S. about how the flu vaccine shortage is affecting their ability to care for patients.
As of 3 p.m. on Tuesday, October 12, nearly 650 pharmacy directors have responded. The survey will continue through midnight Tuesday.
Startling preliminary findings include:
- In just the few days since the influenza vaccine shortage was announced, more than 55 percent of respondents report that they have been contacted by opportunistic vendors offering to sell flu vaccine at highly inflated prices.
- Of the hospitals contacted by opportunistic vendors:
- - More than 80 percent report being offered the vaccine at more than 4 times the original market value.
- - Nearly 20 percent have been offered the vaccine at $800 or more per 10-dose vial -- more than 10 times the original market value
- More than 75 percent of hospitals report that they will not have enough flu vaccine to meet the vaccination recommendations of the Centers for Disease Control.
Please call for more information or to arrange an interview.
For more than 60 years, ASHP has helped pharmacists who practice in hospitals and health systems improve medication use and enhance patient safety. The Society's 30,000 members include pharmacists and pharmacy technicians who practice in inpatient, outpatient, home-care, and long-term-care settings, as well as pharmacy students. For more information about the wide array of ASHP activities and the many ways in which pharmacists help people make the best use of medicines, visit ASHP's Web site, http://www.ashp.org, or its consumer Web site, http://www.SafeMedication.com.
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