H1N1 vaccine deliveries to NC providers to start in mid to late October..!

RALEIGH — North Carolina began placing its first orders for 2009 H1N1 vaccine on Wednesday and the first batches are expected to be shipped to providers across the state in limited quantities during the month of October.
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State health officials do not expect that there will be a shortage of the swine flu vaccine, but the first shipments of the vaccine will be small and providers will not get all of their allotted vaccine at once. They said that 2009 H1N1 vaccine will continue to be produced as long as there is demand for it.

All distribution of the 2009 H1N1 vaccine in the United States is being managed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The CDC tells states how much vaccine they may order and when they may place orders. The ordered vaccine is shipped by the CDC’s central distributor to the hospitals, clinics, doctors’ offices, health departments, retail pharmacies, and other providers designated by local and state officials.

The vaccine may take up to two weeks to reach providers’ offices. More shipments will follow as the vaccine is produced by manufacturers and the individual lots are tested and approved by the FDA.

The CDC has recommended that certain groups of the population receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine when it first becomes available. These priority groups include:
-- pregnant women;
-- people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age;
-- health care and emergency medical services personnel;
-- children and young people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old;
-- people ages 25 through 64 years of age who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems.

Two forms of 2009 H1N1 vaccine are being produced – an injectable vaccine and an inhaled nasal spray vaccine. Pregnant women and children under two years of age should seek the injectable vaccine, as the nasal spray vaccine is not recommended for use in these groups.

All of North Carolina’s first shipment of 2009 H1N1 vaccine is nasal spray vaccine. The state expects to begin receiving injectable vaccine in the coming weeks.

Individuals in the priority groups who wish to receive a 2009 H1N1 vaccine should contact their health care providers or their local health departments to find out about vaccine availability and possible costs. The vaccine itself is provided by the federal government at no charge, but private providers may charge a fee for administering the vaccine to patients.