Nov. 6 (Bloomberg) -- New York City Health Commissioner Thomas Farley said his department sent 6 percent of the city’s limited doses of swine flu vaccine to Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and other large employers because they traditionally distribute shots in flu seasons.

As many as one-quarter of adults who receive seasonal flu shots get them at work, Farley said today in an interview on CNBC. He said he understands the frustration people are feeling because they can’t get the vaccine. City clinics, open Saturdays to vaccinate middle-school and high-school students, also will provide shots to pregnant women tomorrow, Farley said.

The disclosure about the vaccine distribution to private employers in New York spurred the White House and top officials to reinforce U.S. health guidelines calling for children, pregnant women and adults with serious health conditions to be among the first to receive shots. Manufacturers have been criticized for their slow production pace and have delivered millions of doses fewer than originally estimated.

“It’s really important for every available dose to be used as quickly and efficiently as possible,” Anne Schuchat of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said today during the agency’s weekly conference call.

New York City Supply

New York City received 800,000 doses of vaccine for swine flu, or H1N1 influenza, as of the beginning of the month, department spokeswoman Jessica Scaperotti said. The biggest portion -- 39 percent -- was allocated to the schools, while 21 percent was set aside for health care providers, 19 percent for hospitals, and 6 percent for private adult providers, including large employers with on-site medical personnel and clinics.

“Every provider must sign an agreement that they will only give the vaccine to those in the high-risk groups” designated by federal public health officials, Farley said.

The department released a list of large employer allotments that showed Citigroup, with 1,200 doses, received more than Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, which was shipped 200. Goldman Sachs also received 200 doses. Mount Sinai Medical Center received 1,700 and Saint Vincent Catholic Medical Centers got 1,900. Morgan Stanley gave the 1,000 doses it received to hospitals, said spokeswoman Carissa Ramirez.

Donation to Hospital

“We never thought we would receive doses ahead of area hospitals and once this was brought to our attention we promptly donated the doses we received to a few area hospitals,” she said in a prepared statement.

At an employer with 5,000 workers as many as 20 percent could fall in a high-risk group for swine flu, Farley said in the interview. Other recipients included Time Warner Inc., which got 100 doses, Columbia University, with 200 doses, and New York University, which was shipped 300 doses.

Goldman Sachs “like other responsible employers, has requested vaccine and will supply it only to employees who qualify based on the requirements laid down by the CDC and Department of Health,” spokeswoman Gia Moron said yesterday in a statement.

State and local public health officials are “in the best position” to access avenues to reach high-risk groups, Schuchat said today.

High-Risk Populations

“We have no evidence that providers were giving the vaccine outside the priority populations,” said Schuchat, head of the Atlanta-based CDC’s Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

The CDC designates pregnant women, caretakers of infants less than 6 months of age, health-care workers, children and adults with health conditions such as asthma or diabetes, and people under the age of 25 to be in high-priority groups for the vaccine.

CDC Director Thomas Frieden sent a letter yesterday rebuking local and state officials for potentially undermining the vaccination program by inoculating people not in the highest risk groups.

“While vaccine supplies are still limited, any vaccine distribution decisions that appear to direct vaccine to people outside the identified priority groups have the potential to undermine the credibility of the program,” wrote Frieden, who was New York City health commissioner before taking the U.S. job in May.

More than 38 Million

The CDC has more than 38 million doses as of today, with another 8 million to be shipped next week, Schuchat said.

New York City’s public schools have ordered 323,970 doses and have given out 5,500 vaccinations, said Scaperotti of the health department. Only 22 percent of parents returned consent forms allowing their children to receive either injectable vaccine or nasal spray, she said. The system has 1.1 million students.

The elementary schools are vaccinating in three phases -- the last of which is scheduled to begin Monday. Middle-school and high-school students must attend borough-wide clinics, which begin tomorrow.

Swine flu killed 129 children in the U.S. since the outbreak surfaced in April, including 18 reported in the week from Oct. 25 to Oct. 31, Schuchat said today. That’s up from 114 reported by the CDC on Oct. 30. Two-thirds of the deaths are in children with underlying health conditions such as asthma or severe neurological disorders, Schuchat said.

Of the 2,400 obstetricians in New York City offered the vaccine, only 65 have ordered any so far, Farley said. Of 1,600 pediatricians, 1,026 had placed orders, Scaperotti said.

Farley didn’t say whether he would change the city’s program for allocating the vaccine.

To contact the reporters on this story: Pat Wechsler in New York at pwechsler@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: November 6, 2009 16:22 EST