Anticipation Building over Release of Swine Flu Vaccine
With the release of the swine flu vaccine reportedly just days away, a survey conducted by a team at the Harvard School of Public Health suggests that a significant number of Americans are set on having themselves and their children vaccinated against the disease.
The survey was released Friday and indicated that more than 50% of adult Americans intend to get the vaccine themselves, while 75 percent intend to get the vaccine for their children out of more than a thousand respondents. In contrast, 40 percent of the respondents choose not to get the vaccine.
The study’s lead, Robert Blendon of Harvard, said in a Reuters report that these findings should serve as an indicator for public health officials regarding the level of preparedness that their respective offices should be at as they handle the demand for the vaccine once it becomes available.
An earlier survey report released by Consumer Reports, however, do not show nearly as much enthusiasm for the vaccine as did the Harvard report. In the Consumer Reports survey, only 35% of Americans intend to get vaccines for their children. If the Harvard report is an accurate indication of national opinion on the swine flu vaccine, then this means that more people intend to have themselves vaccinated specifically for swine flu as opposed to the seasonal flu.
Since the declaration of swine or H1N1 flu as a pandemic summer of this year, several companies have dived into the development of a vaccine for the disease, with the intent to manufacture and distribute later on. Even at the onset, countries such as the United States and Canada have placed orders for vaccines, with organizations such as the World Health Organization also stepping in and ensuring that vaccines will also be available for countries that cannot readily afford to acquire them.
The United States reportedly have a standing order of give or take 250 million doses of the vaccine from several manufacturers, including Sanofi-Aventis, GlaxoSmithKline and Novartis, among others. Twenty million doses of the vaccine will reportedly come in each week; these will be provided by the government for free although clinics and retailers may charge for their administration.
As of end of September, at least one manufacturer, Sanofi Pasteur, has sent the first shipment of injectable pandemic H1N1 vaccine to a Department of Health and Human Services distribution center.
Tags: swine flu, swine flu formula, swine flu injection, swine flu kit, swine flu medication, swine flu medicine, swine flu prevention, swine flu protection, swine flu vaccine
