Influenza vaccines are available to all individuals in the state of Wisconsin now that high-risk groups have received sufficient doses.

Gov. Jim Doyle announced Dec. 28 that the emergency guidelines mandated last fall limiting eligibility for influenza vaccine would be lifted.

“I am proud of the way our public-health professionals, private health-care providers and Wisconsin’s citizens responded to the flu vaccine shortage,” Doyle said in a release. “Because people were willing to follow our public-health orders, we avoided the nightmare scenario of running out of vaccines and leaving our most vulnerable citizens unprotected.”

After the state made the vaccine available for the elderly, ill and pregnant women, public-health officials across the state determined that doses remained available and could be made accessible to all Wisconsin residents, including the young and healthy.

Influenza, a viral illness, is usually prevalent in the winter months and is often characterized by upper-respiratory symptoms, fever, chills and a dry cough. In Wisconsin, influenza season has started but has not reached its peak, according to the Wisconsin State Health Department.

University Health Services is now offering flu shots with no restrictions to any University of Wisconsin students wanting them.

“We have about 1,000 doses remaining, which I expect will be enough to meet demand,” said University Health Services epidemiologist Craig Roberts. “My personal recommendation is that every student get a flu shot, because influenza is the sort of illness that will keep you in bed for a week or more, and that means a lot of missed classes.”

UHS urges it is not too late for students to get the vaccinated because flu season often peaks in late January or early February. Now is the time to get the shot while you can, Roberts reiterated.

Previous concern about a lack of influenza vaccine was due to Chiron Corporation’s inability to produce flu vaccine caused by a contamination at its British plant last fall. Chiron, whose entire stock of the vaccine was later invalidated, was responsible for supplying nearly half the nation’s flu vaccine supply.

Immediately following Chiron’s announcement of their failure to supply the vaccine, the Centers for Disease Control announced recommendations for states to restrict the use of the vaccine to priority groups who were most in need of the vaccine.

In the weeks that followed, state and local health agencies and other medical providers coordinated the vaccine and abided by the CDC guidelines to give vaccines only to those at risk, which included groups such as children between six and 23 months in age, adults over 65, health-care workers and those most susceptible to the illness.

“The cooperation between public and private health-care providers has been exceptional,” Dan Hopfensperger, director of Wisconsin Immunization Department, said. “There is a great partnership between [public and private] providers.”

If individuals choose not to get the vaccine, health officials say there are other methods to decrease the spread of influenza. These include avoiding contact with people while sick, covering nose and mouth with a tissue when sneezing and coughing and washing hands often with soap and water.

“Most other states are now providing shots to anyone who wants one, [although] Wisconsin did seem to be luckier than other states with its initial supply,” Roberts said. “We have one of the best state health departments in the country, and they were very active in the coordination and redistribution of vaccine.”