Swine flu vaccine lag worries officials

A sharp drop in the first supply of swine flu vaccines has left local officials wary of having to designate who can get the vaccine and who can’t.

Only several specific groups of people will be allowed to receive a dosage of the vaccine, 45 million of which are set to come out in mid-October. The government had previously promised 120 million.

“This is going to be a public relations nightmare for us,” predicted Dr. Timothy Moody, county health officer.

Pregnant women, health care and emergency medical personnel, children and young adults up to 24 years of age, and parents of children younger than six months old are all on the Center for Disease Control’s list of people who qualify, Moody said. Babies can not be given the vaccine.

People over 65 do not qualify because the swine flu has not been shown to affect that age group, Moody said.

Vaccines for the regular influenza will be offered as usual.

One person in Whitman County tested positive for swine flu in late spring, and the county stopped checking after that. Swine flu reports now will only be issued in the event of hospitalization or death.

Moody said that local health officials will be instructed on how best to inform people who qualify. Whitman County will be in step with all other counties around the state in terms of how to determine who gets the vaccine.