When Will The Public H1N1 Vaccine Arrive

Mayo Clinic doled out its first batch of H1H1 vaccine today to some of its caregivers, but no one seems to know when the first "public" shipment is due to arrive.

Doctors became patients Monday on the 16th floor of Mayo Clinic's Gonda building. They're a few of only a few hundred who'll get this first round of h1n1 vaccines. They work with patients vulnerable to H1N1. Patients like babies and very young children, transplant recipients and pregnant women.…

"There's a lot of anxiety about the vaccine and vaccine safety," says infectious disease specialist Dr. Priya Sampathkumar. She says the H1N1 vaccine is safe and soon the health care workers won't be the only ones getting vaccinated.

KAAL by Donny Rowles, 10/12/09

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The bizarre alliance of the far left and far right against swine flu vaccinations

Swine flu may have an unexpected side effect: political unity. The far left and far right agree that they're sure as heck not getting vaccinated against swine flu.

On the anti-government right, swine flu vaccinations are seen as an example of government overreach…

On the left, there are prominent doctors, lawyers, and Hollywood celebrities skeptical of vaccines in general—and the swine flu vaccine especially…

Indeed, there's nothing more universal than fear of shots. "I just think there are people wired that way," says Gregory Poland of the Mayo Clinic. "They operate on the basis of emotion and anecdote—what they read at the University of Google—rather than a fact-based or data-driven point of view."

Slate Magazine by Christopher Beam, 10/12/09

As Flu Vaccine Arrives for the Season, Some Questions and Answers

The first doses of vaccine for the H1N1 2009 influenza, commonly called swine flu, began arriving at hospitals and doctors’ offices this week. But fear and confusion about the vaccine are spreading almost as quickly as the virus itself…

In general, immunity to H1N1 2009 kicks in about seven to eight days after the vaccine, slightly faster than the 10 to 14 days typical of seasonal flu vaccine. However, a child below the age of 10 will need two doses of the H1N1 vaccine, spaced about a month apart, and full immunity will not occur until about a week after the final dose. “Kids get two doses because they don’t develop as high of a protective antibody response from the first dose,” said Dr. Gregory A. Poland, an infectious disease specialist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.

NY Times by Tara Parker-Pope, 10/10/09

Tags: flu, Infectious Diseases