Swine flu vaccine guidelines coming Wednesday

By Craig Schneider

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Georgia officials are eagerly awaiting a federal committee’s recommendations Wednesday on which groups should be the first to receive swine flu vaccine.

The committee’s actions are expected to largely reflect the guidance that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently sent to state governments, which recommend that priority be given to schoolchildren, pregnant women and health care workers.

The federal government has determined that vaccine will be distributed in the United States, pending the successful outcome of clinical trials that begin shortly.

The vaccine doses will likely be distributed in waves and CDC officials don’t know whether there will be enough to meet early demands. Health officials are trying to identify high priority groups, should there not be enough. If there is enough vaccine, there may be no need to prioritize groups, CDC officials said.

The recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, meeting Wednesday at the Atlanta-based CDC, will help as Georgia public health and education officials prepare plans to distribute a vaccine.

“Whatever the decision is, we’ll need to talk to the school districts to discuss whether the schools will be used as vaccination sites,” said Matt Cardoza, spokesman for the Georgia Department of Education. “Based on the CDC, it does sound like school-age children will be named as a high priority group.”

Many Georgia public schools open next month for the fall semester and some health officials fear that the H1N1 virus will spread among the children.

The CDC also recommended that priority be given to pregnant women, since they appear more vulnerable to the effects of the virus, and health care workers, who need to be protected to care for people who acquire the virus.