Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregon health authorities say the first doses of H1N1 vaccine should be in the state by Monday.

As Kristian Foden-Vencil reports, manufacturers say they’re starting to ship the vaccine, but mostly in the form of nasal spray rather than injectable serum.

The Centers For Disease Control and Prevention says the H1N1 pandemic continues to spread around the country, particularly in areas where schools started early.

The Southeast has been hard hit, with a lot of illness and school closures. Temporary clinics have even been set up in some spots to deal with a surge of patients.

Oregon’s public health director, Dr. Mel Kohn, says things are much better here, but the flu season is definitely starting.

Mel Kohn: “I do believe that now school is back in session, some of our surveillance data is suggesting that we are probably beginning to see an uptick in the number of folks who are getting ill.”

So Kohn was pleased to announce Wednesday that the first doses of H1N1 vaccine will be here by Monday. He says the nasal spray vaccine  will go to children over the age of 2; health care workers and first responders. Pregnant women and people who have medical conditions that put them at high risk of flu will have to wait for the injectable vaccine to arrive.

Mel Kohn: “We do expect that we will have enough vaccine for everybody who wants to, to get vaccinated through the course of the season here. Of course that vaccine isn’t going to arrive first thing Monday morning, it’ll take a little bit of time to ramp things up. But we are starting very actively next week.”

He says the first doses will come in the form of a nasal spray, because it’s quicker to manufacture.

Mel Kohn: “We’re told we are going to be getting a little bit of the vaccine and we’re expecting that to grow and grow. In fact, most of the vaccine we’re going to be getting is going to be in the injectable form.”

Kohn says people will likely continue getting inoculated through the flu season, which generally ends in April.

The serum will not be sent directly to the state. Instead, local counties have drawn up lists of clinics, hospitals and pharmacies, so manufacturers can send it directly where it’s needed.

Doctor Gary Oxman, the health officer for Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington Counties, says people need to call their doctors or local pharmacies to find out when the vaccine will be available.

Gary Oxman: “Local health departments across the state are working very actively to make sure we are ready to receive this vaccine. And to make sure that there are lots of pathways for people to get vaccinated.”

There is some concern that as people are inoculated, the vaccine will be blamed for illnesses that would have occurred anyway.

There’s even evidence -- reported elsewhere in the country -- that some pregnant women have encountered difficulty finding a provider willing to give them the vaccine.

Doctor Kohn says steps have been taken to make sure that liability is not a concern for those in the health care industry.

Mel Kohn: “The federal government has provided a way to compensate people who might have some kind of an injury that they have associated with this vaccine.  And also there is some liability protection for health care providers who administer the vaccine, provided of course that they do it within the acceptable standards of practice.”

He says it may reassure Oregonians to know that he’ll be taking his kids to get the vaccine.

The state has set up a special website to disseminate information about the flu. It can be found at www.flu.oregon.gov.