The CDC yesterday established the pecking order for those individuals first in line to receive the vaccine for novel influenza A H1N1.
There are 160 million of them, since the government doesn’t think it will have enough doses initially to vaccinate every person in the U.S., according to a report by the NPR Health blog [1].
Don’t worry; healthcare workers make the first cut.
Here’s the list of those who will have first shot at the 120 million doses expected to be ready by late October—that’s right, even with all the attention given to pandemic influenza, the experts at the CDC know that not everyone eligible will take them up on the offer.
- Pregnant women
- Household contacts and caregivers of children under six months
- The 14 million health care and emergency service workers in the United States
- All children, adolescents, and young adults age six months to 24 years
- Adults age 25 through 64 who have underlying medical conditions
Left out in the cold, so to speak, are:
- Healthy people through the ages of 25 and 64
- People 65 and older
Before you accuse the government of being heartless to elders, the experts on the CDC advisory committee point out that pandemic influenza studies show fewer cases of the flu among older people, according to NPR. Researchers believe that this age group has higher immunity levels to this strain of the flu.
The CDC expects more flu doses to be available in November and December for the non-priority groups and those in the first priority group who need a second dose, says the report.
Now that you know your priority level for flu protection, will you take the CDC up on the offer, or will you bypass H1N1 vaccination?