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A little more than a week after China announced the start of their pandemic vaccination program, Australia has become the second country to begin large scale swine flu vaccination.
China, however, only expects to vaccinate about 5% of their population, while Australia is hoping nearly everyone will take the jab.
While the winter flu season in the southern hemisphere is nearly over, fears of the virus re-emerging in the form of a second wave, or simply simmering in the population over their summer, have prompted health officials to push this post-flu-season vaccination.
The US expects to begin to offer the pandemic vaccine in the next two weeks, and Canada has plans to roll out a vaccine in November.
This from Reuters.
Australia rolls out nationwide swine flu vaccination
Wed Sep 30, 2009 9:11am BST
PERTH (Reuters) - Australia rolled out a nationwide vaccination drive for H1N1 influenza on Wednesday in a bid to arm itself against a possible outbreak of the disease.
Health Minister Nicola Roxon said 5.5 million doses of the vaccine have been delivered across the country, enough to vaccinate about 30 percent of the population, and two million doses each month will be made available until January.
The campaign is Australia's biggest mass vaccination and is estimated to cost over A$100 million ($87.95 million). Vaccinations will start with those most at risk in the pandemic, including health care workers, pregnant women and the chronically ill.
More than 4,600 Australians have been hospitalized and 172 people have died from H1N1 flu.
