Blendon Woods Civic Association

Flu Vaccine Panel Creates Priority List

Sep 06, 2009

NATIONAL NETWORK FOR IMMUNIZATION INFORMATION
Website: http://www.nnii.org/

A 15-member committee of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compiled a list of people who should receive the pandemic flu vaccine when it is made available in September and the order in which they should be vaccinated. The panel recommends that pregnant women be vaccinated first, as they make up 6 percent of H1N1 deaths and a large number of hospitalizations, followed by caretakers of infants under six months old, children and young adults between the ages of six months and 24 years, older people with chronic conditions, and healthcare workers. After these population segments have received the vaccine, healthy adults between the ages of 25 and 65 years should be immunized, followed by people age 65 and older. Elderly people are last on the list because they have not been hit hard by the pandemic, probably because they were exposed to related flu strains in the past. After 40 million doses of the vaccine--which will be available as a traditional injection and a live nasal vaccine--are delivered in September and 80 million doses are delivered in October, 80 million doses per month will be made available.