Cold & Flu Health Center
H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine FAQ
The 2009 H1N1 swine flu vaccines are now rolling out in increasing numbers every day.
Everybody has questions:
Get the latest swine flu facts and information from WebMD, the CDC and other public health agencies.
- Swine Flu Center
- Focus On Flu: Get Expert Answers
- Video: Swine Flu Precautions
- Swine Flu Symptoms
- H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine
- Is the H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine Safe?
- Swine Flu: 10 Things Not To Do
- CDC Swine Flu Updates
Swine Flu Slideshow
Learn more about the H1N1 swine flu and see what you can do to stay healthy.
- When can I get an H1N1 swine flu vaccination?
- Who is first in line to get the H1N1 swine flu vaccine?
- If I'm not at the front of the line, will there be enough H1N1 swine flu vaccine for me?
- Is the H1N1 swine flu vaccine safe?
- Who should get the H1N1 swine flu vaccine?
- If I think I've had swine flu, do I need the vaccine?
- What's the difference between the nasal spray and injectable vaccines?
- I know science says vaccines preserved with thimerosal are safe, but is there an alternative?
- I've heard that something called squalene is in the vaccine. Is that true?
- Where can my children and I get the swine flu vaccine?
- How much will the H1N1 swine flu vaccine cost?
- I've heard H1N1 swine flu shots are mandatory. Is that true?
- Would YOU get the swine flu vaccine yourself?
The answers are here:
When can I get an H1N1 swine flu vaccination?
answer: A few places will have vaccine as soon as Friday, Oct. 2. All states will be offering some vaccine beginning the week of Oct. 5.
Longer answer: Here's how it works:
- States already have identified and collected vaccine orders from the providers (doctors' offices, clinics, and retail stores such as pharmacies) that will give people vaccinations.
- On Wednesday, Sept. 30, states began submitting their orders to the CDC.
- The CDC collates the orders and allots vaccine doses in proportion to each state's population.
- Beginning Thursday, Oct. 1, orders go to the vaccine distributor, which has vaccines sitting in four climate-controlled warehouses.
- The distributor ships the vaccine to 90,000 distribution points, from which the vaccine goes to providers in lots of 100 doses. Orders smaller than 100 doses go to the state, which breaks them down and redistributes them.
This first week, a total of 6 or 7 million vaccine doses will have rolled off the assembly lines of five vaccine manufacturers and will be distributed. About half these first doses will be flu shots; 3.4 million will be the FluMist nasal spray vaccine.
Who is first in line to get the H1N1 swine flu vaccine?
nasal spray vaccine is approved only for healthy people ages 2 to 49. The first doses of the vaccine will go to health care workers with direct patient contact and to caregivers and household members of infants under 6 months of age. (Small infants are at high risk of flu complications but can't start vaccination until they're 6 months old). The nasal spray vaccine is NOT approved for pregnant women.
The flu shots, depending on the manufacturer, are approved for kids as young as 6 months of age and are safe for pregnant women.
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