H1N1 Vaccines Headed To Alabama

The first doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine will arrive in Alabama this week.

State Health Officer Don Williams announced Monday 60,000 doses will be available within the next ten days. The majority of the doses will be the live virus in the form of a nasal mist.

The Mobile County Health Department does not know how many doses will be delivered to south Alabama, but officials say private physicians will get the vaccines first.

"The vaccine is supposed to build the immunity against the actual swine flu," said Dr. Jimmy Dawood of Immediate Care of the South, who does not know if his clinic will be selected to receive the vaccines. "It's like any vaccine we take," he said.

Director of Epidemiology Melissa Tucker says the Mobile County Health Department expects shipments of the vaccine to continue over the next month. As injectable doses become available, health officials plan to distribute the shots to local schools.

"There's a projection of how much we're going to get, but we're still not sure. We won't know until its in our hands," said Tucker.

Tucker says most public schools have school nurses who will administer the vaccines, but many private schools are looking for nurses to volunteer for the job. Nurses interested in helping give the shots are encouraged to contact the Mobile County Health Department.

State health officials have set up a toll free hot line to answer questions about the flu. Anyone with questions can call 1-877-377-7285 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday.