1st vaccine for H1N1 may be the nasal type

The government has said a trickle of vaccine will be available in early October, but on Friday they defined the size of that trickle — an estimated 3.4 million doses.

Currently it looks like all of them will be a nasal-spray vaccine that is approved only for healthy people ages 2 to 49, said Dr. Jay Butler, an official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The H1N1 flu is also known as swine flu.

The nasal spray, called FluMist, is not recommended for some of the people most in danger of severe H1N1 flu complications. That includes pregnant women, children younger than 2, and people with asthma and other chronic respiratory diseases.

However, it's possible that some vaccine shots will become available by the first week of October as well, said Butler, chief of the CDC's H1N1 vaccine task force.

Flu shots are made of killed influenza virus, while FluMist is a live but weakened strain. The nasal spray is approved only in the United States and is made by Maryland-based MedImmune, an AstraZeneca PLC subsidiary. Four other companies are making flu shots for the U.S.

The initial vaccine doses will go to up to 90,000 sites, including schools and clinics, across the nation. State health departments will determine which offices and clinics get the shots, and whether health-care workers or others get the first doses, Butler said at a CDC news conference Friday. The government has ordered 195 million doses and may order more if there's enough demand. Butler said it's good news that the flow of vaccines will start soon.

"When we open the faucet, there won't be a puff of smoke. There will be vaccine," he said.

FluMist was designed with kids in mind, and the company's research suggests it is more effective in youngsters than a shot in the arm against seasonal flu.

Studies in adults have found that shots are more effective.

More online

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu