Maine and the rest of the nation face a serious flu vaccine shortage this season. The governor and state Department of Health and Human Services’ Bureau of Health have been working from the earliest indication of a national shortage to ensure the most vulnerable of our population receive vaccine.

Requests for business, health care providers and the public to follow state guidelines in the wake of the continuing shortage have been encouraging. Calls for redirection of vaccine supply currently available in Maine to go to high-risk populations have been heeded and a public education campaign is underway to help Maine citizens prepare for the flu season. We are hopeful that approximately half of the 150,000 doses the state originally ordered from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) will go out to those most vulnerable people.

Longer term solutions should be implemented at the federal level to adequately prepare our nation for the influenza season. Public health is a public investment critical to the longevity of our society.

Vaccine demands are normally steady, yet vaccine supplies need to be high enough at all times to address the unexpected surges in demand caused by outbreaks. Public investments must occur in research for a flu vaccine with a longer shelf life, in purchasing of adequate supplies of flu vaccine, and in public health infrastructure that will assure the ability to deliver vaccine quickly to those most in need.

The renewed federal investments in public health following Sept. 11, 2001, and the national anthrax attacks have not been sustained. Recently, the federal government has cut those same investments to states. That translates into reductions of more than $1 million in Maine.

Two bills before Congress propose some flu vaccine specific solutions: the Flu Protection Act of 2004 proposes long-term solutions; and the Emergency Flu Response Act of 2004, sponsored by Sens. Olympia Snowe and Edward Kennedy, proposes emergency measures to address the current flu vaccine shortage. Both these bills deserve support.

Meanwhile, there is reassurance as we enter this flu season. If you are in a high-risk group and have not been able to get a flu shot yet, there are several steps you can take. First, consider contacting your doctor, since there is additional flu vaccine that will be distributed to some health care providers over the coming weeks. Ask if you are eligible for the pneumonia vaccine, which helps protect some high-risk individuals against one complication from the flu. The Bureau of Health recently distributed almost 12,000 doses of this vaccine.

Prevention methods should also be used by everyone in order to stop the spread of flu and other germs. Wash your hands frequently, muffle your coughs and sneezes, and stay home if you’re ill. Keep up to date with state public health information and consider posting hygiene reminder signs in workplaces.

Finally, realize that although influenza’s impact is significant, most people do not get the flu and for those who do, most fully recover and return to full health. The vast majority of years, the vast majority of people do not get the flu, and the vast majority of those who do get the flu, fully recuperate at home.

Maine people, working together, can help public health officials and help each other through the flu season. We can ensure that high-risk individuals – children 6 months to 23 months and children 2 to 18 years of age with underlying chronic medical conditions or on long-term aspirin therapy; residents of long-term care facilities; adults 65 years and older in poor or fair health; and other adults with chronic underlying medical conditions – receive vaccine first. We can follow public health guidelines. And we can pursue long-term solutions to national vaccine supply issues that will enable us to be better prepared for future flu seasons.

Dr. Dora Anne Mills is the director of the Bureau of Health, Maine Department of Health and Human Services. Edward Miller is the CEO of the American Lung Association of Maine