Agencies to set up mass swine flu vaccinations

[efoods]Public health experts are gearing up for swine flu vaccinations this fall in what could be the largest mass-immunization campaign since the polio vaccine was introduced more than 50 years ago.

Local public health agencies will bear much of the responsibility for vaccinating the public, and the state is receiving $30 million in federal grants to help prepare for an expected re-emergence of swine flu this fall.

For now, there are more questions than answers with regard to flu vaccinations, including how much of the vaccine will be made, when it will available, and who will get it first. In fact, the federal government has not officially announced plans to make a vaccine widely available, although it is expected to do so by the end of summer.

“There’s still a lot of information we have to figure out, and we’re learning as we go,” said Dr. Mantu Davis, deputy health officer with the Alameda County Public Health Department. “It’s definitely a larger vaccination than anything we’ve seen, or anything in my lifetime.”

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This article was posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 at 9:57 am

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