Sebelius: H1N1 vaccine now plentiful

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- More than 100 million U.S. doses of the swine flu vaccine were available Friday as 24 states lifted restrictions on who could get the vaccine, officials said.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Thursday the vaccine to guard against the H1N1 virus was plentiful, topping 100 million doses, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The newspaper said some U.S. pharmacies are beginning to receive vaccine available for general distribution, ending restrictions that favored those most at risk, including children and pregnant women. Now, the Times said, health officials' biggest fear is that many people will decide they don't need the vaccine now because the epidemic appears to be waning.

"We have a wonderful window of opportunity to prevent or lessen a third wave," Sebelius said at a news conference, noting that in the 1957 Asian flu pandemic, the fall outbreak tailed off but it was followed by another wave early in the new year, perhaps spurred by holiday travel.

Estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention indicate through mid-November, about one in six Americans caught H1N1, and about 10,000 have died, the Times reported.