Treyfish
Moderator
BY TODD L. DISHER
Frontiersman
Published on Thursday, October 8, 2009 5:37 PM AKDT
MAT-SU ? A limited quantity of the vaccine for the H1N1 virus reached Alaska earlier this week, but this first shipment will target a very small audience.
The 4,200 doses of medication to ward off swine flu are in a nasal spray form appropriate for children 2 through 4 years old, Matanuska-Susitna Emergency Manager Tom Smayda said. The shipment arrived in Anchorage on Monday, and state health officials are distributing stocks to public health centers around the state, Smayda said.
The Mat-Su Public Heath Center will start administering its 520 doses on Tuesday, said Jane Conard, the nurse manager for the center. Vaccinations will run from 1 until 7 p.m. ? or until 4 p.m. Friday ? throughout the week as stocks are available.
No appointments are necessary, but Conard stressed children must be in good health to receive the vaccine. A parent or guardian with knowledge of the child?s medical history must be present with a detailed shot record, Conard said.
?The Division of Public Health has made this a priority to give the vaccine out,? Conard said. ?Other services may be limited while we are doing this.?
Smayda said the indication from the state is more quantities of the vaccine should start coming in. Once the injectable version becomes available, health officials will target the other priority groups, such as pregnant women and health-care providers.
Eventually, he said, there will be stocks enough to vaccinate everyone who wants the vaccine.
?We are now looking at mid-November,? Smayda said, ?but that is highly subject to change depending on the supply chain.?
According to state health officials, the vaccine is made from weakened viruses that do not cause the same severity of symptoms that typically come with the flu.
Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.
:tiphat:http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2009/10/15/local_news/doc4ace8dc66acd1709997043.txt
