H1N1 Flu Vaccine Supply - Questions and Answers
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) is a kind of clearinghouse for vaccinators in California. Vaccinators register and place orders with the state. Once vaccine has been released for use in California, CDPH places orders, that have been reviewed by local health jurisdictions, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
It takes 24-48 hours to process orders before they can be submitted into CDC’s system which will always cause a difference between the number of doses allocated and the number of doses ordered.
Allocations are population based. Distribution problems, however, have caused temporary imbalances that will be resolved as more vaccine becomes available.
Jurisdictions with lower percentages are placed higher in the queue for available vaccine and then the percentages are reassessed on a weekly basis. When equalization will occur is dependent upon the vaccine supply.
Both mechanisms have been made available to the counties and both mechanisms are happening at the counties discretion.
Local health jurisdictions have prioritized a list of providers in their jurisdictions and reviewed and modified provider orders to accommodate their allocation of vaccine.
We place orders with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which works with five manufacturers.
No.
We cannot estimate when sufficient supplies will arrive in California, but we are confident there will be enough eventually for everyone who wants a vaccination.