State governments start swine flu vaccine campaign

Oct 9 2009

Questions, answers and reactions emerge as various states and counties distribute H1N1 flu vaccines.

CNN covers recommendations that people from ages 2 to 49, especially health care workers and children, receive an nasal spray version of the vaccine, while pregnant women and children younger than two should wait for injectable kind.

"The campaign to inoculate millions of Americans against H1N1 flu began Monday. Every state is developing a vaccine delivery plan, according to the CDC. All states in the United States have ordered vaccine, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the CDC" during a briefing Tuesday. The U.S. has ordered 2.2 million doses and "the vaccine is being made available as soon as it comes off the production line," according to Frieden. "This week the intranasal mist variety, called FluMist, became available, and next week the injectable form will made available, he said." Frieden said the first few weeks of distribution will be "bumpy" and "demand is currently greater than supply," but supply will soon "outstrip demand." The CDC states that once the injectable vaccine is released, "all priority groups should be vaccinated" (Landau, 10/7).

The Arizona Republic reports Arizona received a "fraction of its first orders of swine-flu vaccine, which could throw a wrench into health officials' plans to vaccinate hundreds of thousands of residents in coming weeks." So far, the state has only been allowed by federal health officials to order about 156,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine, less than half of which has arrived, with the rest expected sometime next week. Original planning called for 800,000 to 1 million doses to arrive around next Thursday" (Rough, 10/9)

Various publications report on developments in their areas. The Long Island Press reports that "health officials have been ratcheting up initiatives to better prepare the public" for the vaccine (Halloran, 10/8). Lake County News reports on efforts in California (Larson, 10/9). The Record-Courier reports on efforts in Nevada (Carlini, 10/9).