LAKE COUNTY – Lake County's first shipment of H1N1 vaccine is expected soon, and it will arrive close on the heels of a large allocation of federal funds meant to help control the flu pandemic that continues to affect people across the state and the nation.

As of Thursday, the California Department of Public Health reported 2,510 hospitalizations and 188 deaths attributed to H1N1, also known as the swine flu.

Here in Lake County, there have only been four hospitalizations so far, said Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.

Tait said the county is expected to soon receive a “very small” allocation of 700 H1N1 doses, with more to follow as the vaccine becomes more widely available.

In neighboring Mendocino County, officials reported Thursday that they expect to receive an initial 900-dose allocation and FluMist vaccine and a total of 13,700 doses of both FluMist and injectable vaccines throughout the winter.

The Centers for Disease Control reported last week receiving orders for 600,000 doses from states and major US cities.

Tait said that the vaccine is manufactured in a variety of forms, each one intended for different age groups and people with different health conditions. The vaccine expected to arrive initially is a live virus nasal spray that can only be used in healthy, non-pregnant persons, ages 2 through 49 years.

The first vaccine doses are recommended for healthy children ages 2 through 9 years, and people who are eligible to take the nasal spray vaccine who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, Tait said.

Local health officials are now working on planning for the next set of doses to arrive, which Tait said are expected in waves over the next few weeks, with many more doses set to arrive in mid-November. Over time it's expected that there will be plenty of vaccine for everyone who wishes to be immunized.

Because of the limited doses available in the first shipment, local health officials said only health providers who have requested the nasal spray vaccine and who treat patients in these groups will receive initial supplies.

While Lake County's health officials are planning for how to distribute the vaccine, they're getting assistance from state and federal officials.

On Monday Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger issued an executive order to support and facilitate the state’s aggressive approach to addressing the spread of the H1N1 flu virus. Schwarzenegger's order is meant to cut through contracting red tape to more quickly obtain goods and services to fight the spread of the virus' spread.

Schwarzenegger's office reported that the state also is expanding surveillance to detect increased pandemic activity, continuing development of clear guidelines for the public, working with local health departments to ensure health care facilities can respond to a surge in the need for patient care, and strengthening communication lines with medical providers and the public to get out information.

The federal government also is putting a lot of money behind the effort.

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors approved a resolution to appropriate $270,229 in federal funds to assist with carrying out the federal Centers for Disease Control's health emergency response and hospital preparedness program.

“There are several supplemental pots of money within these supplemental funds, some of it for planning, some of it for planning with hospitals and some if it for just actual vaccination campaigns,” said Tait.

The funds approved Tuesday are for planning and response activities that Tait said the county has been doing since May.

She expects another large chunk of funding – an estimated $193,000 – also could be available to the county for its efforts against H1N1.

The amount of funding far surpasses the resources given to the seasonal flu, which Tait said has a significant impact every year.

The additional resources for H1N1, said Tait, are motivated by the greater risk to the general public posed by the newer virus.

“With the pandemic strain, the vast majority of the population is susceptible,” she said.

Most people have developed an immunity to the seasonal flu strains, but the H1N1 is brand new and most people haven't been exposed to it, she explained.

Unlike the seasonal flu, younger age groups – including children and pregnant women – are more frequently hospitalized with H1N1, said Tait. “Most cases occur in people under age 50.”

However, seniors remains at risk for complications, especially if they have underlying health problems, Tait said. “We may be vaccinating the seniors later on in the season,” when more doses arrive, she added.

Surveillance around California has picked up an increase in H1N1 cases, which are expected to continue to go up, Tait said.

“The rule of thumb is, prepare for the worst and hope for the best,” said Tait.

With her small staff of about four, two of which are part-time, Tait is hoping to add more staff through the grant funding to help with a massive local vaccination campaign planned for H1N1.

She estimated that they'll try to do 10 times as many vaccinations as they normally do, which would mean reaching as many as 40,000 of the county's 65,000 residents.

“We've never vaccinated as many people for seasonal flu as they're proposing that we try to do with this vaccine campaign,” she said.

That will make it more necessary than ever for the Health Services Department to draw on its partnerships with local medical providers – hospitals, clinics and pharmacists, she said.

There also are plans for special clinics, starting around mid-November when more vaccine becomes available, according to Tait.

She said people can receive both the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines at the same time, but the guidelines call for receiving a shot for one and the nasal mist for the other.

She said the different considerations about which flu vaccines to give can be “mind boggling,” and she plans to keep issuing updates to help answer peoples' questions.

“People should prepare to be confused,” she said. “We'll straighten it out but it does take some thought.”

Tait continues to urge basic steps to avoid H1N1 and other flu varieties, from covering your nose and mouth when sneezing, to frequent handwashing, and regular cleaning of frequently touched surfaces and staying home when ill to avoid exposing others.

“This year, more than ever, we have to think about how we affect our friends and neighbors,” she said.

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