“People should take some comfort in the fact that they’ve been able to make a vaccine so quickly,” she said. “At this point in time, they’re saying that the severity will be unchanged, but whether it’s worse or less severe, we’ll have a vaccine.”Officials met at the National Institute of Health at a “flu summit” in Maryland Thursday to discuss the new vaccine. Clinical trials are scheduled for next month. The Institute warned that states should prepare for another wave of swine flu in the fall.
But Bull said people should not panic just yet.
“If there are adequate supplies, it will be distributed just like other vaccine seasons,” she said. “If there is an inadequate supply, they will first go to protecting the most vulnerable.”
High-risk persons include children, those dealing with children, the sick and elderly.
Bell said it is too early to determine how many immunization doses the Hendrick Health System will be allotted.
Five U.S. pharmaceutical companies are working on the vaccine, which has affected roughly 1 million people nationwide and killed 170. Globally, the virus has killed at least 420 people.
Last month the World Health Organization(WHO) declared a swine flu pandemic, meaning the disease spread in two world regions. WHO estimates more than 100 countries have been exposed to the disease.
Experts say the H1N1 virus more severely affects people between the ages of 5 and 24.
As of June, only 14 cases of the swine flu were confirmed in Taylor County.
“I think it’s just a matter of continuing to recognize that we need to observe this organism,” Bull said. “They are advocating judicious use of anti-viral resistant, meaning they don’t want people to get crazy and take a lot of anti-virals.
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