By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-10-11 22:20:33 | Word Count: 575
State health officials said the first doses of H1N1 flu vaccine likely will arrive sometime in the next week.
Three people in Iowa have died from swine flu. Health officials believe H1N1, or swine flu, is the dominant flu strain in the state.
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Iowa will start placing orders Friday, officials said. Seasonal flu shots usually arrive in three to six days, though the wait could last longer because H1N1 vaccine has never been produced on a mass scale, said Polly Carver-Kimm, state health department spokeswoman.
Black Hawk County health officials said the county will receive about 60,000 doses, but initial supply will be limited. The vaccine will be available at most health providers, said Bruce Meisinger, the county's disease surveillance manager.
"We are on the cusp of being in the H1N1 vaccine business," he said.
It is unclear how many people the county's allotment of vaccine will cover, in part because children 6 months to 9 years old need two doses, Meisinger said. People 10 years and older need just one dose.
Until a full supply is available, the vaccine will be administered to these priority populations: pregnant women; households with infants younger than 6 months; children younger than 4 years old; health care providers with direct patient contact; and all children with underlying risk factors.
Meisinger said he expects county public vaccination clinics to ramp up in late November or early December, when additional supplies will allow wider vaccinations.
Expanded populations will include health care and emergency medical services personnel with indirect patient contact; all people 6 months to 24 years old; and adults up to 64 years old with underlying risk factors.
The federal government paid for the production of the vaccine, so health providers may only charge an administration fee. However, most shots will cost patients nothing.
The H1N1 vaccine is covered under Medicare and Medicaid. Iowa's two dominant insurers, Wellmark Blue Cross/Blue Shield and UnitedHealthcare, said they will cover the vaccine.
Federal health officials urge Americans to also receive the usual seasonal flu vaccine. The rapid spread of H1N1 has kept demand strong for seasonal flu shots, and local health officials said they are temporarily in short supply.
Most orders from local hospitals and clinics have been only partially filled because vaccine makers shifted some production capacity to H1N1 shots, several local health providers said.
The county, for example, asked for 1,000 doses and has received about half of its order, which is nearly gone.
University of Northern Iowa received its entire supply right away. The school said it exhausted its doses on the first day of a campuswide clinic.
Despite the shortage, health officials said they are more concerned about the rapidly spreading H1N1 flu virus.
"(Season flu vaccine shortage) is OK, really, because all the flu going around is H1N1 anyway," said Dr. Robert Friedman, a county health board member.
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