Marquette's annual "Shoo the Flu" event has been shooed this year due to nationwide vaccine shortages.

The decision to cancel the event was made after flu vaccine manufacturer Chiron Corp. lost its license, causing a shortage of the vaccine, said Keli Wollmer, a physician assistant at Student Health Service.

Members of the Visiting Nurses Association of Wisconsin administered flu shots at "Shoo the Flu" events.

According to Cindy Karolewicz, a registered nurse with the association, "Shoo the Flu" is a community-based flu program that serves eastern Wisconsin down to the Illinois border. It usually takes place from the second week of October to the first week of December, she said.

At Marquette, the program lasts two full days in the fall, according to Wollmer. Students, faculty and staff were able to come to Student Health Service and receive flu shots.

"Usually about 100 or so students came," Wollmer said.

The shortage of flu vaccine this year could have repercussions throughout Milwaukee, accordring to Paul Biedrzycki, director of disease control and prevention at the Milwaukee Health Department.

"If the current state of affairs continues, we will face a major public health concern," Biedrzycki said. He said it is hard to predict the severity of a flu season, but the inability to immunize people will probably lead to more severe and more frequent flu cases this year.

At Marquette, Student Health Service will administer flu shots to only those considered high-risk in compliance with regulations mandated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

People who are high risk, as identified by the CDC, are those over the age of 65, children ages six to 23 months, pregnant women and those suffering from asthma, heart disease and diabetes, according to an eligibility document people seeking flu shots must fill-out for the Visiting Nurses Associaiton.

"Shoo the Flu" will still serve high-risk people in a part of the program that involves administering shots at public clinics held in shopping malls, grocery stores and pharmacies.

The other part of the program takes place at locations such as universities, including Marquette, schools and office buildings. It has been cancelled because most of the people at these locations are healthy and do not qualify for flu shots this year, Karolewicz said.

Anyone under the age of 65 will be required to fill out a screening tool recommended by the CDC in order to receive a flu shot this year, she said.

"That's the only way we can be assured individuals are high-risk," she said.

Wollmer said there was a higher-than-normal amount of flu cases among students last year, and this year could be worse because of the vaccine shortage.

"It depends on how hard we get hit," Wollmer said. "We anticipate we will see more flu cases because we don't have the vaccine."

Flu season does not usually hit Wisconsin until December, according to Karolewicz.

"If people follow the rules, we think there will be enough vaccine to immunize the highest at risk," she said.

Biedrzycki disagrees. If the shortage continues, even the high-risk may not be immunized, he said.

He said since the vaccine takes six to eight months to produce and is heavily regulated in the United States, a quick end to the shortage seems unlikely.

Biedryzcki advises people ineligible to receive flu shots to stay home from school or work if they become ill, exercise good hygiene and respiratory etiquette and take prescription antivirals.

Wollmer says students should also wash their hands, stay well-hydrated, avoid alcohol and caffeine, exercise, dress appropriately and avoid close contact with someone who has the flu.