Swine flu vaccines will begin to be available this week. However, they won't be in sufficient supply for any but health care workers, which most states are reserving them for, to receive them.
This is the same sort of idea that has happened when other high-profile diseases have arrived. In other words, we need to keep doctors and nurses healthy so they can care for the rest of the population if we become ill.
People won't have to wait that long, however. By mid-month, at least 40 million doses of H1N1 swine flu vaccine will have been shipped, and more will arrive each following week. That will be when the public can look into their own shots.
The U.S. government has ordered 250 million doses of swine flu vaccine from five companies. Those companies are Sanofi-Aventis SA, CSL Ltd, Novartis AG, GlaxoSmithKline and MedImmune.
Consumers should also remember that taking the swine flu vaccine will not protect against seasonal flu. Neither will the opposite: a dose of seasonal flu vaccine will not protect against swine flu.
In addition to healthcare providers, the CDC has recommended that pregnant women and people with special health conditions (including heart disease and diabetes) should be among the first in line to get the vaccine. It's unclear exactly how many Americans will want, or get, the vaccine.
Check out some of our prior coverage of the swine flu pandemic:
- Mexico's Swine Flu Outbreak Raises Fears of Global Pandemic
- South Carolina, Georgia Confirm First SE Swine Flu Cases
- Mexico to Shut Down Government Over Swine Flu
- Asia Sees First Swine Flu Cases
- Third U.S. Swine Flu Death Reported in Washington
- Edgar Hernandez IDed as Swine Flu Patient Zero
- WHO Raises Flu Alert Level to 5; Pandemic Looms
- Swine Flu Deaths in U.S. Hit Double Figures
- Should You Get The Swine Flu Vaccine?
- Dr. Oz Show Covers Swine Flu Pandemic
- Consumers Look For Swine Flu Symptom Checker To Understand It
- Tim Tebow vs. Swine Flu, or the Wildcats?
- Formerly Healthy Young Woman Dies of Swine Flu Due to Lack of Insurance
- Swine Flu Prevention Hurt by Lack of School Nurses
Written by Michael Santo
Exclusively for HULIQ.com
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