Last week US officials declared that the amount of swine flu vaccine is hardly sufficient for the whole nation, and 160 million people were designated as the priority group to receive the shots. It comes to about half of the total population of the country. Children and pregnant women are heading the lists.
Priority is also given to the five groups specified as running a higher risk for the disease.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Policy, these groups “include pregnant women, household contacts of children under six months of age, healthcare workers and emergency medical services personnel, children and young people between the ages of six months and 24 years of age, and non-elderly adults with underlying medical conditions that increase their risk of complications from influenza.”
The CDC spokeswoman Anne Schuchat explains that these people are “the initial focus for immunization” because they are more susceptible to possible complications from the H1N1 influenza.
It is believed that there will be enough vaccine for all the people on the lists, and with a bit of stretching the whole target group will be covered even if a number of people will need a second dose.
Source of the image: flickr.com/photos/scelera.
