School Kids May Have to Get up to 4 Flu Shots in the Fall

July 20th, 2009

Via: Palm Beach Post:

School children who have never had a flu shot may need to get vaccinated four times in the fall – twice for seasonal flu, twice for pandemic swine flu – officials at the CDC told health professionals on Wednesday.

Most everyone else should expect three shots.

Five manufacturers are now making vaccines against the pandemic H1N1 swine flu virus, said Dr. Tom T. Shimabukuro at the CDC’s Immunization Services Division, National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

They are well on their way to having between 40 million and 160 million doses of egg-based vaccine available in the United States by October, added Dr. Pascale Wortley the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s pandemic vaccine coordinator.

On the high end, that would be enough vaccine for everyone in the United States who wanted it by January. But on the low end, it would require prioritizing distribution to health care workers and those at higher risk for complications – including children, pregnant women, and people with chronic diseases and asthma, Wortley said.

“This vaccine campaign will unfold quite differently than seasonal flu,” said Wortley, in a conference call with health care professionals nationwide on Wednesday. “This is a huge endeavor we’re gearing up for.”

Posted in Kill Off | Top Of Page

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.