# 3373
Since swine flu vaccines are not going to be available until later in the fall, and then probably only in limited quantities at first, decisions must be made regarding who gets vaccinated first.
Additionally, it may take two shots – about 28 days apart – to convey full immunity, which further complicates any mass immunization program.
Finding a reasonable, and equitable way to distribute an (initially) scarce pandemic vaccine is understandably high on the list of things for public health officials to do.
In Canada, experts are urging that natives (Canada's Aboriginal peoples) and those between the ages of 5 and 40 get vaccinated first. These have been the hardest hit groups so far with this first wave.
Vaccinate Canadians under 40 and natives first: experts
Sharon Kirkey, Canwest News Service Published: Sunday, June 21, 2009
Five-to-40-year-olds and Canada's aboriginal communities should be the first to get vaccinated against human swine flu, experts say as Canadian officials decide who gets priority for the flu shots.
Under Canada's official pandemic plan, the entire population would ultimately be immunized against the H1N1 swine flu.
But the vaccine will become available in batches, meaning the entire population can't be vaccinated at once. It might take four or five months to get all the vaccine we're going to get, during which time a second wave of swine flu may well be underway.
The Public Health Agency of Canada is working on a priority list, deciding where the first batches should go, and who should get the injections first. All provinces and territories would be expected to follow the national prioritization scheme.
Unlike normal seasonal flu, the H1N1 virus appears to be disproportionately infecting older children and young adults. So far the largest number of confirmed cases have occurred in people between the ages of five and 24.
"It doesn't mean they're all getting sick and need to be hospitalized, but they're getting significant illness," said Dr. Noni MacDonald, a leader in pediatric infectious diseases and a professor of pediatrics at Dalhousie University in Halifax.
British researchers reported last week that targeting children first would protect not only them, but also unvaccinated adults.
"Even if you are concerned about the elderly, who are often mentioned as another risk group, their main connection to the big pool of infection is often their grandchildren," said Dr. Thomas House of the University of Warwick.
But adults older than 64 don't appear to be at increased risk of H1N1-related complications so far in the outbreak. It's possible they have some antibodies against the virus.
