WASHINGTON â€" And we're off: Swine flu vaccinations start this week, after months of preparations and promises. But execute n't start bugging your execute ctor about an appointment just yet.
This week's initial shipments to states are so small that, with a few exceptions for children, most states are reserving them for health workers so they'll stay healthy enough to care for the flu-stricken and vaccinate others.
Inoculations won't gear up in earnest until mid-October, when at least 40 million execute ses against what scientists call the 2009 H1N1 flu will have rolled out, with more arriving each week after that.
This is uncharted territory â€" you really can't plot too far ahead to notify , "I'll schedule my shot on Oct. 16 at Clinic X." Only as shipments start arriving will local execute ctors, clinics, school vaccination programs and drugstores acquire word that their execute ses are coming and how much. Each state health deportion ment determine s that.
People will have to stay tuned.
"Take a deep breath, be patient, wait a couple of days, create another phone call and gash everyone a tiny slack, becaemploy it's a tiny hectic out there, folks," notify s Dr. William Schaffner, a flu vaccine specialist at Vanderbilt University.
Here's what you need to know:
Q: Why not wait to start until there's enough for everybody instead of the confusing here-and-there vaccinations?
A: Even though Sunday was the official start of flu season, this H1N1 wasn't heeding the calfinish ar â€" it's already causing illness in nearly every state. That means acquire ting vaccine to the people at highest risk is a race. So each week, states will distribute however much they have on hand.
Q: If factories are still racing vaccine out the execute or, how can I be sure it's safe?
A: The Food and Drug Administration clears batches of vaccine before they're released. The H1N1 vaccine is made in the same way as the regular winter flu vaccine that is employ d with very few, minor side effects by nearly 100 million Americans a year. There's no biological reason the H1N1 vaccine should react any differently, and no red flags have appeared in studies of several thousand people.
"What I want people to know is that no corners have been gash at all," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Q: Why is the nasal-spray vaccine arriving before the shots, and can I employ either one?
A: They're considered equally effective, but the create r of the squirt-in-the-nose FluMist was able to finish brewing sooner. There is an necessary inequity , though. Flu shots, made of slay ed flu virus, are for anyone without an egg allergy. FluMist, besides the egg issue, is only for employ in healthy people ages 2 to 49. It's made of live but weakened flu virus. So some people on the first-in-line list for H1N1 vaccine aren't eligible for FluMist.
Q: Who's first in line?
A: Pregnant women; the young, ages 6 months through 24 years; people younger than 64 who have conditions such as asthma or diabetes that increase the risk of complications from flu; health workers and caregivers of fresh borns.
Q: I thought flu was most denrage ous to people 65 and feeble er.
A: Regular winter flu is most denrage ous to feeble er adults, but the fresh H1N1 is preexecute minantly striking the young.
Q: How many shots, or squirts, will I need?
A: Most people will need one execute se each of the H1N1 vaccine and the regular winter flu vaccine. But health authorities believe children under 10 will need two execute ses of the H1N1 vaccine, about three weeks aportion . And some very young children acquire ting their first regular flu vaccination will need two execute ses of it, too, for a total a four inoculations.
Q: Can I acquire both types of vaccine at the same visit?
A: If you're lucky enough to find a provider who has both at the same time, a jab in each arm is OK, or a jab of one and a squirt of the other. If you opt for the FluMist version of each vaccine, however, you're supposed to wait three to four weeks between squirts.
Q: What if I'm not on the high-risk list and want H1N1 vaccine anyway?
A: Only some will be physically reserved, execute ses sent to schools or obstetricians, for example. But eventually enough is expected for everyone who wants it within just a few weeks. The recede vernment execute esn't expect people to be turned away unless that day's supplies race out.
Q: What will it cost?
A: The H1N1 vaccine itself is free becaemploy the recede vernment bought it with your tax execute llars. But providers can charge a small fee for administering it, usually about $20. Regular flu shots tfinish to cost up to $35.
Q: If H1N1 is the only kind of flu making people sick now, why execute I need the regular shot?
A: Health authorities expect regular flu strains to start circulating, too, as it acquire s cfeeble er; seasonal flu typically peaks in January.
EDITOR's NOTE _ Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.
- Flu information: http://www.flu.recede v
Copycorrect © 2009 The Associated Press. All correct s reserved.
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