CDC expects to have enough H1N1 vaccine

ATLANTA, July 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. government is planning for widespread H1N1 vaccination in the fall but federal officials say they are not worried about having enough vaccine.

"The yields, what we have heard about yields, is consistent with the way we were planning and we haven't heard news that has changed our expectations for vaccine availability in the fall," Dr. Anne Schuchat, director of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases, said at a telephone news conference.

"As you know, manufacturing is a challenging business and there can be additional surprises. Based on what has been described to us so far, it's within the range of our planning assumptions but that doesn't mean we won't have more surprises."

While the H1N1 flu has been decreasing overall in the United States, the CDC expects flu activity to start rising again in September, ahead of the regular flu season, when children return to school, Schuchat said.

The CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices is scheduled to hold a meeting at the end of July to discuss which populations should be targeted for the H1N1 flu vaccine and whether prioritizing would be appropriate, Schuchat told reporters.