The good news is that swine flu cases appear to have peaked in the Denver metro area.
But don’t get rid of that gallon-size jug of hand sanitizer yet, and certainly don’t give up on getting the H1N1 flu vaccination.
The illness very well may come back in force, and those in vaccine priority groups — young people, pregnant women, health care workers — ought to get the vaccine when it becomes available to them.
The world’s vaccine makers have encountered delays as they’ve tried to meet demand. A total of about 23 million doses have been distributed so far in the U.S. But Swiss drugmaker Novartis AG said last week some 30 million doses of the vaccine would be shipped to the U.S. by the end of this month.
The Centers for Disease Control expects the H1N1 vaccine will be widely available by the beginning of December.
The delay has been frustrating for worried parents and others. It’s unfortunate the federal government has found itself having far less flu vaccine than it had anticipated at this point. Health officials should have been more cautious in their predictions.
However, the feds deserve credit for spurring the development of a safe and effective vaccine. (See today’s Perspective cover for details.)
Now, those willing to get vaccinated just need to wait.
