CDC: 3.4 million inhalable H1N1 vaccine doses available soon

Health officials expect vaccine to be effective

Arth Pandya, Correspondent  

More than 3 million doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine will be available beginning in early October, according to Dr. Jay Butler, who heads the 2009 H1N1 Vaccine Task Force at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.   

“All of that vaccine is the inhalable vaccine,” he said.   

The arrival of the vaccine approval comes at a critical time, as flu activity is increasing nation-wide, with cases found in all 50 states.  Nearly 5,000 cases have been diagnosed on college campuses alone.

Because the H1N1 flu virus has not mutated into a new strain from its earlier version, health officials are expecting the vaccine to effective.   

The shipment of 3.4 million doses are the first of 195 million doses the U.S. government has purchased from five vaccine manufacturers.    

The Food and Drug Administration approved and licensed the H1N1 vaccine from four of the manufacturers.  Sanofi Pasteur, Novartis and CSL Limited will manufacture flu shots, and MedImmune will manufacture the inhalable vaccine.   

GlaxoSmithkline — located in Research Triangle Park — is also producing an injectable flu vaccine, but is still awaiting approval from the FDA.   

FDA licensure means the government has certified the vaccine is made properly and meets specific manufacturing and quality standards.  

Health officials with the CDC have encouraged those most vulnerable to the H1N1 virus get vaccinated first. The groups include pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than six months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, persons between the ages of six months and 24 years old, and people with chronic lung or heart disease or diabetes.

David McKenna, an international student from England, plans to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

“At first I wasn’t worried, but after hearing most of those getting sick were young — both here and back home — I am definitely getting vaccinated,” McKenna, a senior in chemistry, said.