Untalan said the Atlanta-based CDC informed health authorities throughout the states and insular areas that a new vaccine strategy will be implemented to fight swine flu which had affected more than 12,000 and hundreds killed around the world.
Part of the strategy is to administer the anti-H1N1 virus vaccine which will be given in two doses.
“This fall, the U.S. is rolling out your seasonal influenza vaccine shots. Then they will be rolling out the H1N1 vaccine — we would provide that for sure. The first thing that we need to do is to take care of people who are taking care of our critical infrastructure — like your firemen, your healthcare workers, the ambulance people and pregnant women,” said Untalan, adding that the rest of the public will be administered the vaccines.
“We’ll be rolling out two types of vaccines — one for the H1N1 threat and the other one for the seasonal influenza virus strain,” said Untalan.
“The difference between the two is the amount of dose. For H1N1 you have to get it in two doses. You have to come back a month later to get the second dose. For seasonal influenza, if you are an adult you only need one dose. If you are a child at a certain age, you must have two doses,” he added.
The acting public health secretary held a teleconference with CDC officials at 5 a.m. last Friday.
Northern Marianas is vulnerable to the northern and southern hemisphere influenza season.
The northern hemisphere influenza is seen in the U.S. while the southern hemisphere influenza is more common in Australia and New Zealand.
“The CNMI is in between. It gets both — the southern or northern hemisphere influenza season,” said Untalan.
The CNMI remains H1N1 free.
