Swine Flu Vaccine Being Tested Now

It's currently being tested and once the swine flu vaccine is approved, it's likely hospitals will be immunizing certain groups. However, remember even those who are first in line probably won't have immunity until Thanksgiving.

Seven-year-old Nina Strudwick and her nine-year-old sister, Hannah, are getting the H1N1 vaccine. They're among the 600 children taking part in a national study to evaluate two things -- safety and effectiveness.

"There's children in school getting sick already, and if my children are vaccinated, that means hopefully that they won't get sick, but it also means that they won't pass it along to somebody else who may have a lower immune system," said mother Amanda Strudwick.

The testing on children started only after weeks of adult testing raised no big concerns. The swine flu shot uses the same technology as the seasonal flu vaccine, so doctors are confident in it.

Emory University in Atlanta is one of several sites around the country testing the dosage and trying to figure out if the swine flu vaccine and the seasonal flu shot will work well together. That's just the first hurdle. Next, it will be getting the right people immunized.

"Communications will really go out to the public about where they can get the vaccine and what groups are going to be prioritized for it," said Dr. Suzanne White.

White is in charge of emergency medicine and the Pandemic Preparedness Task Force at Wayne State University. Right now, she says there are five groups targeted for vaccine: pregnant women, people who care for children younger than six months of age, health care workers, everyone six months thru 24 years old, and anyone 25 through 64 with health conditions.

"All children are among the first tier group that the government has recommended should receive immunizations. And this is actually the first year that we're recommending that all children get seasonal flu vaccine. So, it's going to be a busy year for parents. It's going to be a busy year for pediatricians," said Emory University Pediatrician Dr. Harry Keyserling.

"The overarching goal is really to get as many people vaccinated within those priority groups as possible and to make it as easy for folks to get the vaccine as possible," White said.

Children who have never had a seasonal flu shot might need two of those to boost their immunity to the seasonal flu, so it could be a total of four shots. Those shots take about two weeks to take effect, so we're talking about immunity sometime in November.