Influenza 2004--2005: the best of times, the worst of times

Last year's flu vaccine shortage caught public health officials around the country off guard. Minnesota's efforts to locate vaccine within the state and distribute extra doses to areas with the greatest need paid off, as the state was able to make vaccinations available to people who were at greatest risk--and eventually to everyone else--long before the rest of the country. This article looks at how officials in Minnesota handled the situation and how better communication and development of a Web-based data collection tool to assess and project the supply of vaccine could better prepare the state for another shortage.