An increase in flu cases has led to higher demand for flu vaccinations in the Flathead Valley.

There has been a rush to get vaccinated, Community Health Services Director Jody White told the Flathead City-County Board of Health Thursday.

“We’re over 400 [flu shots] this January to date,” White said, compared to a total of 57 flu shots in January a year ago.

White said that her department has 270 adult vaccine doses remaining, and it is getting more and more difficult to get the vaccine.

“A few pharmacies still have access — we did a poll,” she said.

White told the board that the department can obtain a good supply of pediatric vaccine through the Vaccine for Children program. She expects to meet that demand.

White said that it’s never too late to get a flu shot. 

“It will be circulating in the community,” she said. “We’ll see a peak probably sometime in the next few weeks, but it will continue.”

As of Jan. 11, there were 244 confirmed cases of influenza in Flathead County, up from 152 cases a week earlier. Health Officer Joe Russell pointed out that Montana continues to lag behind many other areas in the nation in flu severity. 

“We’re still quite into our flu season,” he said. “It’s not close to being over.” 

Along with influenza, pertussis (whopping cough) remains a problem in Flathead County. The latest schools affected were Glacier and Flathead high schools and Cayuse Prairie School. 

White said Glacier had one case Wednesday; another came from Flathead Thursday. The last Flathead case had been listed as a contact of an earlier case at the school. 

“So at least there is some relationship between cases,” she said. “It’s better than these random cases popping up.”

Earlier, the department reported five confirmed cases among seventh- and eighth-graders at Cayuse Prairie School. 

Countywide, there have been 70 confirmed cases of pertussis.

White said her staff had completed Cayuse Prairie student contacts but was still working on contacts involving the more recently received cases from the high schools.

Answering a question from board member Dr. David Myerowitz, White said the department has tracked the cost of this work although she did not have a total for staff time. Myerowitz said knowing the dollars devoted to these contacts would be helpful for Russell as he meets with school boards on vaccination requirements.

Myerowitz has been an outspoken advocate of vaccination. He has been particularly emphatic about schools not allowing students to enroll until they have received vaccinations mandated by state law.

In a humorous aside, he said that he had gotten the strong-dose flu vaccination now available for people over 65 but still came down with the flu when he traveled to Florida. 

“I think that was payback for all the articles I’ve written,” Meyerowitz said with a laugh — referring to the frequent letters from him published in the Daily Inter Lake.

White said her department has seen an increase in people seeking the tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis vaccine referred to as Tdap. 

In a related action, board members voted to increase the county’s vaccine administration fee from $14 to $20 for children and from $15 to $20 for adults. 

Russell said the state allowed an increase from $14.30 to $21.32 for the Vaccine for Children Program for the first time since 1994. He said the $15 previously charged for adults was lower than Medicare would reimburse. 

According to Russell, Medicare rates were the standard by which the department has set charges in the past. He added that the staff is considering a sliding schedule for the administration fee based on ability to pay.

“Please note that no child is denied vaccination based on ability to pay at this time,” Russell wrote.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by email at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.