Even with the shortage of flu vaccines, local businesses have not seen an increase in sick absences from employees thus far.

Jerry Carter, director of the Monsanto DeKalb facility, said flu vaccines will not be offered this year except in special circumstances.

“We’ve always offered them before, but they got canceled,” Carter said. “With the type of workers we have, experts tell us we are not in the impact group.”

Karen Grush, administrator of the DeKalb County Health Department, said major impact groups include children six to 23 months old, adults 65 and over, pregnant women and health care providers.

Although Carter said he expects a few more sick absences, he said there has not been a huge problem so far.

“I don’t think it will be a show-stopper,” Carter said. “I guess our situation is a little unique since we are closing down and have fewer employees than before.”

Whether a business has a small staff or a large one, Carter said limiting absences is always crucial to success. The DeKalb facility has only about 40 of its original 300 employees left, which will be transferred to the Waterman facility in the near future.

“Any time you’re staffed you have [employees] that carry out specific tasks or duties,” Carter said. “If they’re not there to do it, someone has got to pick it up.”

Carter said he is worried about a possible psychological effect that may result from not getting the vaccine.

“Are people going to look for an excuse?” Carter said. “Are they going to wake up feeling a little sick and think they need to stay home when they would normally go to work?”

Phil Amberg, vice president of human resources for Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget Consumer Packaging DeKalb division, said he was confident that will not happen.

“We’ve never seen a dramatic effect from a large flu season,” Amberg said. “Only about 50 percent of our staff [of 325] have gotten the shot in past years anyway.”

SCA expected to offer the vaccine again this year but decided not to because its work force does not fit into any impact group.

“It’s a nice thing to provide, but we generally have a fairly young work force,” Amberg said. “If we have a large rash of sickness, it could hurt us.”

All SCA can do is hope a large flu outbreak does not happen, Amberg said. He said employee health is always a top priority and SCA encourages its workers to stay home when they are sick.

Grush said businesses probably will not see the effects of the flu vaccine shortage until December or January, when the flu season is at its peak.

The DeKalb County Health Department has received about 1,000 doses to give to high-risk patients, Grush said.