Maryland this week surpassed 1 million doses of H1N1 vaccinations received from the federal government, about one month after it initially expected to reach the mark.
State health officials reported 30 deaths in Maryland associated with the swine flu virus as of Nov. 20.
Federal officials initially told the state to expect 1 million doses by the end of October, but production delays slowed the distribution. The first shipment was sent Sept. 30.
"We were just as frustrated as anybody that we didn't have enough vaccine when more people wanted it," Paulson said.
Now, he said, Maryland hopes to have the 2.9 million doses needed for its target population by January, at which point it will be made available to the general public.
"It's so fluid at this point," Paulson said of the timeline. "It's just a moving target."
The priority populations are:
-Pregnant women;
-Heads of households and caregivers for children under age 6;
-Health care and emergency medical services personnel;
-Anyone ages 6-24;
-People 25 to 64 years old with health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from the flu, such as asthma.
Currently, vaccinations for priority individuals are being offered at local health departments, federally qualified neighborhood clinics or from private physicians.
Once enough doses have been distributed to cover priority groups, the vaccines will be sent to pharmacies, which can charge a fee to administer the vaccination, but not for the dosage itself.
All told, the state plans to order 4 million doses of vaccine, Paulson said. Maryland has a population of 5.6 million.
Health officials will order more vaccinations if the demand is higher than anticipated.
Each day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notifies the state health department how many doses are available. Maryland officials then decide how to allocate the shipments, which take between 48 and 72 hours to reach their destinations, Paulson said.
The numbers vary every day: For example, the state got 66,100 doses on Monday, but zero on Tuesday.
Hysteria over the spread of the illness has diminished in recent weeks, as more vaccinations have been received, Paulson said.
"That fear over not being able to find a dose is less than it used to be, but it's still there," he said.
Sixteen of the state's swine flu fatalities have been from the Baltimore metropolitan area. There have been six deaths in the Washington, D.C. region, four in Western Maryland and two each in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore.
Staff Writer Sean R. Sedam
contributed to this report.
