Montgomery County received its first doses of H1N1 vaccine late this afternoon, and people are anxious to get it.
Health care workers and pregnant women are on the top of the priority list for receiving the vaccine. But health officials are reminding the public that not everyone can get the nasal spray vaccine. People over the age of 49, pregnant women, and people with chronic illness are ineligble. And those who received the seasonal flu mist have to wait 28 days before getting the nasal spray for swine flu.
Health officials say pregnant women are more prone to debilitating complications from the swine flu, but many of them worry the vaccine itself will be more harmful. They say the vaccine hasn't been fully tested and fear it could affect their babies. But today the CDC says the vaccine is effective and that the strain used to make the vaccine is an excellent match to the virus that's spreading.
Health care workers who are also on the top of the priority list are saying no to the vaccine. A Montgomery County immunizaiton coordinator says while he'll be first in line, for some reason, many of his colleagues believe they're healthy and don't need the vaccine. And they don't want to be forced to get it.
Children ages 6 months to 6 years are a priority as well. Infants under 6 months cannot get the vaccine. But Montgomery County's health officer, Dr. Ulder Tillman, says besides infants, just about everyone should get vaccinated because they don't have immunity to it.
