PORT ANGELES — As H1N1 flu activity crests on the North Olympic Peninsula, health officials say the supplies of vaccine are picking up as well.
Clallam County received 5,300 doses in October, while Jefferson County got about 2,100 doses that month.
Both counties are projected to get double the amount received in October this month.
Manufacturing delays limited early doses of swine flu vaccine to those most vulnerable to the strain: pregnant women, health care workers and young people with chronic medical conditions.
If the current projections hold true, the final group on the priority list — anyone 24 and younger — will have access to the vaccine by the end of November.
“Now we think we’ve got enough vaccine to start opening it up to all of these nationally designated groups,” said Dr. Tom Locke, health officer for Clallam and Jefferson counties.
Health officials will offer swine flu shots in schools later this month if Clallam County gets its projected 10,000 doses, and Jefferson County gets its projected 4,000 doses, in November.
“Vaccine supplies are improving,” Locke said. “We’re getting very regular shipments.”
Anyone who wants the H1N1 vaccine should be able to get a shot by December, Locke added.
“We’re confident we’ll get there,” Locke said.
Slow coming in
“They’re producing a huge amount of vaccine. It’s just slow in coming in, and there’s no way of precisely predicting demand.”
Swine flu, which is considered a mild pandemic with symptoms similar to seasonal flu, has leveled off in the region.
Absentee rates for Peninsula schools have remained below 20 percent, Locke said.
“Rather than a very sharp up-and-down, we seem to be at a plateau,” Locke said, when reached by cell phone in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday.
H1N1 activity should begin to subside in two or three weeks, he added.
Another wave of H1N1 is expected to arrive in January, along with the normal winter flu.
“We’re trying to get enough people vaccinated in the remainder of November and December to try to blunt out or eliminate that mid-winter surge of H1N1,” Locke said.
Jefferson County receives about 40 percent of Clallam County allocation of the vaccine.
Distribution is based on a county’s population, and Clallam County outnumbers Jefferson County about 71,000 to 29,500.
Demand for the vaccine — both the early live virus nasal mist and the injectable form — exceeded the spread of H1N1 in Washington state and most of the country.
Since the supply was so limited, the federal government set up a priority list to distribute it.
Most older people, who are often susceptible to the seasonal flu, have shown an immunity to the H1N1 strain.
All of the season’s confirmed cases of the flu have been H1N1.
Separate vaccines are needed for swine flu and the seasonal flu bug.
As manufacturers try to catch up with demand, health officials are stressing prevention — covering coughs, washing hands frequently and staying home when sick — as effective ways to control the spread of influenza.
No confirmed deaths from H1N1 complications have been reported in Clallam or Jefferson counties.
One confirmed swine flu death was reported in Kitsap county, Locke said.
Updates on where to get the H1N1 vaccine in Clallam County are available by:
• Calling your medical provider.
• Phoning Clallam County Health & Human Services office at 360-417-2274 for information and immunization clinic schedules.
• Going to the Web site at www.clallam.net/news/swineflu.html for information.
• Phoning the Forks Health Department at 360-374-3121 for West End information and immunization clinic schedules.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
