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Swine flu

Swine Flu H1N1 Basics

As the swine influenza A (H1N1) virus is a new virus, no swine flu vaccine is available to prevent infections. And unfortunately, the seasonal flu vaccine that many of us receive will not provide any protection against the swine flu virus. Experts are already working on a swine flu vaccine though. The CDC has already provided a candidate vaccine virus to several laboratories and manufacturers so that they can produce pilot lots of swine flu vaccines that can be tested to make sure they are safe and effective

It is important to note that the decision to make a swine flu vaccine is separate from the decision as to whether or not to recommend that people actually receive the vaccine. Experts will likely still have to see what happens throughout the rest of the summer to see if they will recommend that people get a swine flu vaccine.

Swine Flu Vaccine

It is estimated that the swine flu vaccine won't be ready until sometime around September to November 2009. In addition to the time required to actually make a new vaccine, the likely need to make seasonal flu vaccine for next year may delay things a little.

Can the swine flu vaccine be combined with the seasonal flu vaccine? No, as vaccine companies will be done making seasonal flu vaccine before they can likely even get started on the swine flu vaccine. Go to fullsize image Once the swine flu is ready, who will get it?

CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommends that swine flu vaccine should first go to:

  • Pregnant women
  • Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age
  • Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel
  • All children and young adults from 6 months through 24 years of age, and
  • Persons aged 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza

That will take up about 159 million doses of swine flu vaccine. If supplies of swine flu vaccine are limited, priority should go to:

  • Pregnant women
  • Household contacts and caregivers for children younger than 6 months of age
  • Healthcare and emergency medical services personnel
  • Children 6 months through 4 years of age, and
  • Children 5 through 18 years of age who have chronic medical conditions

Next, as swine flu vaccine improves to the point that all priority groups have gotten vaccinated, everyone from the ages of 25 through 64 years will get vaccinated too. Lastly, people 65 or older, who have the least risk from the swine flu will be offered the swine flu vaccine.

Source:
CDC. Novel H1N1 Vaccination Recommendations. Accessed August 2009.
http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/acip.htm

PandemicFlu.gov. Draft Guidance on Allocating and Targeting Pandemic Influenza Vaccine
http://www.pandemicflu.gov/vaccine/prioritization.html

Plotkin: Vaccines, 5th ed.

Sencer, David J. Reflections on the 1976 Swine Flu Vaccination Program. Emerging Infectious Diseases. Vol. 12, No. 1, January 2006.

WHO. Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 briefing note 2.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/notes/h1n1_vaccine_20090713/en/index.html

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