Local swine flu outbreak greater than spring, but vaccine still in short supply

The level of swine flu in King County has now surpassed the level seen in the spring outbreak, but King County health officials say they won't have enough vaccine for widespread distribution until December — and possibly not until before Christmas.

"We're being held hostage by a national shortage of the vaccine," said Dr. David Fleming, director and health officer for Public Health — Seattle & King County. The vaccine is slow-growing, he said, and is taking longer to produce than expected.

More than 900,000 county residents — most of them children and young adults — are at greatest risk of health-care problems if they contract the H1N1 flu. But the county has only received enough vaccine for about 85,000 residents — less than 10 percent of the at-risk population, Fleming said.

Another 50,000 doses are in the mail, and will arrive at health care provider offices next week. Fleming said the county expects to receive 50,000 to 70,000 doses per week through the month of November. The vaccine probably won't be widely available until December, he said.

Next week's supply is going straight to health-care providers, but by week's end, some vaccine may be available at area pharmacies, he said.

The health department is stressing that the vaccine should only be given to people who fall into the priority groups: pregnant women, children and young adults ages 6 months to 24 years, the caregivers of children under six months of age, people with underlying health conditions up to age 64, and health care workers. Together those groups make up about half the county's population.

Hospital emergency visits for influenza-like illness have been increasing since the beginning of September, and school absenteeism has been increasing in recent groups across all age groups, the health department reported Friday.

Katherine Long: 206-464-2219 or klong@seattletimes.com