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Pandemic Flu Monitor: How Is Your State Doing with Vaccine Information?
This brief says that the federal government alerted us all to the “bumpy road” which we would go down getting H1N1 vaccine produced.
One federal expert also said the vaccine, once produced, would be flowing through a “rusty faucet,” meaning that state public health departments have suffered personnel and funding cutbacks in recent years, leaving them with fewer resources to respond to their own residents.
Bumpy road. Vaccine slower to be produced than expected. Check.
Rusty faucet. Some states have less ability to help its citizens find the vaccine and get it. Check.
“Though the H1N1 vaccine is still not widely available, some states are doing a better job than others at keeping their public informed about where the limited supply can be found.
“The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has admitted that getting enough vaccine to all the states will be a “bumpy road,” but a state-by-state comparison of flu Web sites reveals that some states, like New Jersey, Wisconsin and Kansas, are helping this process run a little smoother by providing vaccine locating tools, lists of local doctors who will provide the vaccine, and even phone numbers for hotlines devoted to helping the public locate a H1N1 vaccine clinic or doctor nearby.”
Source: ABC News, October 27, 2009
