H1N1 vaccine in short supply around state

PROVO — Five days after the Utah County Health Department started giving out the H1N1 flu vaccine, it ran out.

By 4 p.m. Monday, the 5,300 dosages the county received from the state health department were gone.

Another 5,700 are expected to be available in Utah County by Thursday, said Lance Madigan, spokesman for the county health department.

The first batch contained only the nasal spray, but the second batch will have both injections and the spray, Madigan said.

The Salt Lake Valley and Bear River health departments received their second batches of H1N1 vaccines Tuesday. Salt Lake Valley will begin administering its new dosages Thursday morning.

Madigan said only having nasal spray at first was a little frustrating because it couldn't be given to many people in the priority group, including those who are more inclined to disease, under 2 years old or pregnant.

The nasal spray has a slim chance of causing a reaction, Madigan said, so it's only recommended to healthy individuals ages 2 to 49.

For that reason, the Salt Lake Valley Health Department will set aside its first shipment of injections to children ages 6 months to 47 months.

"We are reserving this first shipment of injectable vaccine for our younger children because of their high risk of complications from the H1N1 flu," said Audrey Stevenson, Family Health Services director, "and because our county will only receive limited doses that can be used for this age group."

Salt Lake Valley anticipates more injection doses to arrive in the next few weeks for other at-risk groups. It still has doses of the nasal spray vaccine.

Madigan said the federal government owns the H1N1 vaccine and is distributing the dosages to the state, which then gives them to the counties according to population. The vaccinations are free to the public.

Many counties in Utah have depleted their dosages of H1N1 vaccines, along with other counties around the nation. Madigan said he believes that counties will continue to get small batches of the vaccine until the end of November, when there should be a bigger shipment.

The Utah County Health Department also has been out of the seasonal flu vaccine for a week, and Madigan said he's not sure when another shipment will come in. The latest estimate is one to five weeks, he said.

"Until it actually comes through the door, you kind of wait to see what happens," Madigan said.

When available, Madigan suggests people get vaccinated as soon as they can. He was vaccinated last week but got sick two days later because incubation time of the virus is three to five days, and his son had already given him the flu.

"Be patient and practice good health habits, including coughing etiquette (into your shoulder), washing hands regularly and staying home if you're sick," Madigan said.

Heeding that advice is more important this year because no one has immunity to the H1N1 virus yet, and therefore it can't be fought off as well, he said.

For more information and updates on the availability of the flu vaccines, visit your county's Web site or call 211.

e-mail: slenz@desnews.com