By David Bruce
The Erie Times-News
HAMOT, Pa. — Rich Knecht, R.N., is ready to implement Erie County’s plan to distribute swine-flu vaccine.
There are only two problems: no vaccine, and no money to hire the people needed to give the shots.
“We activated our plan, but it’s in limbo,” said Knecht, director of public-health preparedness for the Erie County Health Department. “I can’t get money out of the state because of the budget impasse, so I can’t make any deals with subcontractors to give the vaccinations.”
Knecht also doesn’t know when he will get any vaccine. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said Monday that only 45 million doses of vaccine will be available by mid-October, instead of the 120 million doses it promised.
Packaging and other problems will delay vaccine shipments, the Associated Press reported. The full shipment of 195 million doses is expected to be delivered by December.
The vaccine has been eagerly anticipated because few people have any immunity to the H1N1 virus, and it’s not known if and when a full-fledged outbreak will happen in the United States.
“It always seems that vaccine comes later than we want it to,” said Howard Nadworny, M.D., director of infection control at Saint Vincent Health Center.
The initial doses of vaccine will go to pregnant women; those who care for infants younger than 6 months old; and health-care workers.
The plan at Hamot Medical Center is to vaccinate all of the hospital’s 3,000-plus employees. If there isn’t enough vaccine to do that right away, certain workers will be targeted, said Russell Bieniek, M.D., a Hamot emergency physician.
“Anybody who has direct patient contact will be vaccinated first,” Bieniek said. “That includes nurses, physicians, certain technicians and nurses’ aides. We’ll probably start with those employees in the emergency department and intensive care unit, and go to the floors where patients are admitted.”
Vaccine will also be given to physicians and nurses in Hamot’s primary-care offices, Bieniek said.
It’s not known who will be giving vaccines to the general public. The federal government is distributing all swine-flu vaccine in the United States, but details haven’t been released, Knecht said.
“Two services have applied to do the vaccinations, but I have to wait until we get the money to make any decisions,” Knecht said.
Nadworny said he doesn’t expect any serious problems getting swine-flu shots to the public.
“We have programs in place to vaccinate people for seasonal flu,” Nadworny said. “So when the pandemic flu vaccine comes in, we fit it into that program.”
Copyright 2009 Erie Times-News