H1N1 vaccine supplies inadequate, health officials say

It may be mid-December before some areas have enough H1N1 flu vaccine to meet the needs of the most vulnerable people, state and city public health officials told Congress yesterday.

Federal health officials, for their part, didn't have any guesses on how long it would take to get the shot to high-risk patients, but they did admit that the current H1N1 wave may be over before there's plenty of vaccines available.

While it would be nice for everyone in the U.S. to get a flu shot, public health efforts are currently targeting health workers, pregnant women, parents who care for newborns, people 6 months through 24 years old, and chronically ill people ages 25 to 64. The federal government has ordered 250 million of those doses, which should more than reach the 159 million people at higher risk. However, only 32.3 million doses of the vaccine have been doled out to states and cities by the federal government, which controls the supply.

This is leading to severe shortages around the country. For example, 62 percent of Alabama's vaccine supply won't be available until after December 1 according to current projections says Donald Williamson, the state's health officer. He anticipates that the state won't be able to offer shots to people outside of the high-priority groups until late December or January.

To learn more about this issue:
- read this piece from The Washington Post

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