H1N1 influenza(swine flu) Vaccine will be distributed on a three day turn around time from four regional warehouses around the country next month. The vaccine deliveries are expected to equal 20 million doses a week by the end of October, will be distributed among 90,000 immunization providers including health departments, hospitals, clinics, doctors' offices and pharmacies. This is a huge logistical process.
All of the H1N1 vaccine will be divided among states and territories on the basis of population. Providers including private companies such as pharmacies, will get it free. States will put in orders based on the need in their jurisdictions and the number of doses that hospitals, clinics and other providers say they can use in the immediate future. Orders will be filled in three business days and the vaccine shipped overnight.
Government planners expect demand for vaccine will outstrip supply in the first weeks after it becomes available. During that time, states will have to decide which hospitals, clinics and offices are most apt to reach the priority populations and thus should get vaccine first.
