The Surry County Health and Nutrition Center received its first batch of the H1N1 flu vaccine this week, but county health officials want the public to understand that the first batch is set aside for health care workers.

The county received 300 doses of the vaccine earlier this week. While the vaccine is being manufactured in both injection and flu mist forms, the state is initially only distributing the mist.

This first batch will only be given to health care workers in the county, but Deborah Creed, director of nursing, said the health department should be getting new batches every week to two weeks. Then the county will be able to offer the vaccine to the general public.

Thomas Williams, media relations specialist, said, “We’re at the mercy of the state.”

Williams pointed out that while there has been much talk of counties across the state getting large allotments of the vaccine, they are all restricted to giving the first vaccines to health care workers. He said each county got an allotment based on its number of health care workers. These include doctors, nurses, and other health care workers across the county, not just health department employees.

“They’re on the front lines of this. If they’re sickly, then we can’t take care of the general public,” Williams noted.

Williams and Creed said the county is still ironing out how broadly to define a “health care worker” and how to go about distributing the vaccine fairly. Officials did begin administering the vaccine yesterday at the health center. Because the vaccine is a flu mist and can only be given to people age 49 and younger, this will eliminate some health care workers from eligibility.

“We understand that it’s not going to take care of everyone in the county,” Williams remarked.

The flu mist is similar to a nasal spray. Unlike the injection vaccine, the flu mist has the live H1N1 virus in it. Creed explained that it’s just a small amount used to create immunity. Older people may not be able to handle the live virus. Pregnant women, people with weak immune systems, and people with asthma are also restricted from taking the flu mist.

Williams and Creed said they do not know when the state will release the next vaccines, how many they will get, or if it will be the mist or injection type. Creed did say that once more vaccines are received, officials will try to focus on high-risk patients such as children and pregnant women. If the county receives a large batch in the future, officials will try to set up locations in Mount Airy and Elkin to have mass vaccinations.

But taking the H1N1 vaccine is not mandatory. The state is trying to encourage it as a measure to prevent the mutation of H1N1.

“It has spread rapidly because it’s a mutation. No one has any immunity ... Anything can mutate. We hope that doesn’t happen. The vaccine will help prevent (mutation),” Creed explained.

Creed said people shouldn’t be worried about the safety of the vaccine, because it had to undergo trials like other vaccines. She said, “This is no different than any other influenza vaccine.”

The vaccine is being produced by five manufacturers. One manufacturer has not released any vaccines yet. Creed said the release of those vaccines should alleviate any shortage.

“It will be here,” Creed reassured, “but it may not be getting here as soon as we would like it.”

Williams estimates that by the first two weeks in November the county should have plenty of the vaccine to administer.

“Our hopes are that we’re going to get a high enough allotment for anybody that wants it. Our job in public health is to take care of the well-being of the public, and we’re going to do that,” Williams said.

The county is encouraging people to get both the regular seasonal flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine. The state has been working with the school systems to provide the seasonal vaccine. The health center, however, has run out of the seasonal vaccine. Williams said the county did not receive its expected allotment, so he encourages people to find somewhere that does have it. The county could receive more of the seasonal vaccine soon.

The county kicked off its flu campaign in October this year, a little earlier than usual. Williams said the flu has peaked in January for the past few years and lingered into the summer in some cases. The county wants to make sure that people have the chance to get vaccinated to protect themselves against the flu, whether it’s the seasonal strain or H1N1.

“It’s not mandatory. It’s just our job to get the information out there,” said Williams.

The county has set up an information line for residents with a pre-recorded message highlighting the latest information about the availability of the H1N1 vaccine. The number is 401-8900.

Contact Meghann Evans at mevans@mtairynews.com or 719-1952.