As new data shows the flu season peaking, flu shots are becoming scarce for adults who want to try to immunize themselves against the virus.
Collin County Health Care Services said Thursday that their immunization clinic only has flu vaccines remaining for infants and children under 18 who qualify for the Texas Vaccines for Children program.
The clinic said they don't have supplies to administer vaccines to adults that walk into the clinic. The department did not have an estimated time for further doses.
The search for flu shots has increased even though data is showing a possible peak to the flu season.
Research from a partnership between Google and the Centers for Disease Control shows Fort Worth and Dallas near the highest level of Google searches for flu topics this year. Shown on Google Flu Trends, the graphs appear to level out or even decrease for the last months and show a lower instance of searches compared to last year.
Find an embedded chart from Google Flu Trends below:
As of this article, 39 people were confirmed by county health officials to have died following contracting the influenza virus.
Area hospitals have said they have seen a significant increase in the number of people coming for treatment of flu and flu-like illnesses. John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth said their hospital and others in Dallas and Fort Worth have suffered shortages of inpatient beds while care is provided.
The JPS network of clinics is expanding hours on the evenings and weekends to treat more patients. The JPS Stop Six, Diamond Hill, Viola M. Pitts, South Campus, Northeast, and Arlington centers will all accept walk-ins from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Sunday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
