Swine flu vaccines scarce in Y-S

Only a select few Yuba-Sutter residents have received the vaccine against swine flu — and those who received doses this week were quick to count their blessings as statewide supplies remained tight.

A two-day, appointment-only clinic the Yuba County Health and Human Services Department on Thursday and Friday was a rare chance to get protection against the H1N1 flu virus, which has rippled across the world this year and cannot be blocked by conventional flu vaccines. Only pregnant women, children with existing illnesses and caregivers for infants were eligible to get the vaccine.

"I think it's a great concern," said Kristi Eckman, an Olivehurst resident who received her vaccination at the health department office in Linda because she is a child day-care provider. "I have a lot of babies around, and I can't afford to be sick and try to take care of them."

"My doctor was really persistent about me getting it," said 19-year-old Jaymi Mead of Olivehurst, whose first child is due in three weeks. "They were really worried about the flu over there" at Great Beginnings, a midwifery program in Yuba City.

Statewide, swine flu-related deaths are on the rise.

Health officials say there have been 297 deaths attributed to swine flu, including 31 this month. In the final week of October, two Olivehurst residents, 47-year-old Isela J. Morales and 32-year-old Johnny Duerksen Sr., succumbed to the disease.

California Department of Public Health Director Mark Horton said Thursday in Sacramento that the virus is widespread in the state, causing 5,380 hospitalizations.

Horton said the vaccine's arrival has been slower than expected, with about 4.5 million doses shipped to the state for a population of more than 38 million.

The shortage has been especially acute in Sutter County, which has not received enough doses to offer a vaccination clinic. Hopes for a shipment this month have given way to concerns the vaccines may not arrive until December or later, said Judy Mikesell, the county's director of nursing.

"It's frustrating; it's a manufacturing and supply issue, and it's totally out of our control," she said Friday. "To get any new information about (future shipments), it's just tortuous right now. ... We've been getting a lot of calls, and a lot of people are unhappy because we can't give them the answer they want to hear."

Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 or hyune@appealdemocrat.com. The Associated Press contributed to this report.