1st Doses of Swine Flu Vaccine Set for Early October

Sept. 19 -- FRIDAY, Sept. 18 (HealthDay News) -- The first doses of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine will start shipping the first week in October, slightly earlier than expected, U.S. health officials said Friday.

These first 3.4 million doses will come in the form of the nasal spray FluMist.

"There is a good antibody response to the vaccine," Dr. Jay Butler, chief of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's H1N1 Vaccine Task Force, said at an afternoon press conference. "Adults appear to have a robust antibody response that suggests that a single dose can provide protection," he added.

However, FluMist is not recommended for children under 2 years of age; people with chronic medical conditions such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes; pregnant women; or people older than 49. Children and pregnant women are among those at greatest risk for complications from the H1N1 swine flu, according to the CDC.

There may also be some injectable H1N1 flu vaccine available in early October, but how much is not known yet, Butler said.

The CDC expects doses of injectable vaccine to start shipping on a regular basis by mid-October. When the program is fully up and running, the agency expects about 20 million doses of vaccine will become available each week until all 195 million doses are distributed by sometime in December, Butler said.

Federal health officials are recommending a single dose of the H1N1 vaccine for people 10 years of age and older, and two doses for those younger than 10. That's the same regimen recommended for seasonal flu vaccine, he noted.

The swine flu vaccine will be distributed to the states based on population and the number of doses requested, Butler said. In all there are 90,000 distribution sites nationwide, he said.

The imminent arrival of the H1N1 swine flu vaccine is welcome news, because the flu -- which continues to produce mild illness and fairly quick recovery in most people -- continues to spread around the country. That's unusual because the typical seasonal ("regular") flu season doesn't start until well into Fall, Dr. Daniel Jernigan, deputy director of CDC's Influenza Division, said during the press conference.