Georgia gets first batches of swine flu vaccine

By Craig Schneider and Shelia Poole

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The first shipments of swine flu vaccine hit the ground in Georgia on Monday and some health care workers say they expect a rush of people to get it.

But other health care workers say they expect many people will take a wait-and-see approach to the new vaccine, wanting to learn how it affects people before taking it themselves.

Numerous metro Atlanta counties started receiving a nasal mist version of the vaccine Monday, and some anticipate distributing it as early as Tuesday.

State health officials have targeted the nasal mist to children age 2 to 4 and their caregivers, since young children are more susceptible to catching and spreading the swine flu.

Fulton County health officials said they received an initial shipment of 5,300 doses Monday and expect to start administering them Thursday at neighborhood health clinics.

“It is safely stored and refrigerated,” said Fulton health spokeswoman April Majors.

Health officials in Gwinnett, Carroll, Coweta and Fayette also confirmed that they received the vaccine Monday and that distribution is expected in days.

Georgia officials anticipate receiving an initial shipment of 54,800 doses of the nasal mist with a total of 2 million total doses of vaccine coming by the end of the month.

Majors, of Fulton, said the vaccine will be sent to eight county health clinics around Fulton, where it will be available free. While the vaccine will be geared to young children, she said no one who can receive it will be turned away.

State officials have said the vaccine will be free at government health centers, although some private health care providers may charge an administrative fee.

Fulton health workers are reaching out to day care centers to spread the word, and numerous parents appear ready to have their children vaccinated, officials said.

Some people don’t want to be the first in line for the vaccine.

“It is new and there are questions,” Majors said.

But staff at Dunwoody Pediatrics say they have been deluged with calls from people wanting the swine flu vaccine. They are already administering up to 150 vaccines a week for regular flu, and expect that the demand for swine flu vaccine could be as big. They expect to have the swine flu vaccine by the end of the week.

State health officials emphasized that a person cannot get the flu by taking the nasal vaccine. The nasal spray can be administered only to people age 2 to 49. Pregnant women cannot receive it, nor can those people with asthma.

The nasal spray sometimes produces mild side effects. The most common are runny nose, wheezing, nasal congestion and fever.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is preparing take-home cards that tell vaccine recipients how to report any suspected side effects to the nation’s Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting system.

The East Metro Health District — serving Gwinnett, Rockdale, and Newton counties — received its initial shipment of 5,100 doses of H1N1 vaccine Monday. Officials there expect to be vaccinating high-risk groups before the end of the week.

Fayette County health officials say they will start distributing the swine flu vaccine today.

CVS drug stores are in the process of registering with numerous states to distribute the swine flu vaccine, but have not yet received confirmation to do so, said a company spokesman.