State Officials Defend Plans To Distribute H1N1 Vaccine
On Thursday, California public health officials defended the state's decision to distribute to certain private providers, including Kaiser Permanente, the H1N1 influenza vaccine. Gil Chavez, an epidemiologist for the state Department of Public Health, said that state officials chose the private providers because they treated more patients in priority groups, including pregnant women, children and people with chronic health conditions. However, state officials acknowledged that they may not be able to vaccinate some people in the at-risk groups by the end of December.
- "Some in California's High-Risk Groups May Not Get Swine Flu Vaccine Until 2010" (Hennessy-Fiske, Los Angeles Times, 11/6).