As Chairman of the Illinois Senate Public Health Committee, I would like to provide you with some information concerning the availability of the H1N1 Influenza vaccine. 

According to state health officials, the first 71,000 doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine will be delivered to the Chicago area and the rest of the state as early as Tuesday October 6^th in the form of a nasal spray.

Most of the initial doses -- 16,000 to Chicago, 57,000 to the rest of the state -- will go to health care workers and emergency personnel such as firefighters. They are among the groups on the federal government's high-priority recipient list because of their crucial occupations, particularly if the H1N1 flu becomes a widespread public menace.

Dr. Julie Morita, medical director of the Chicago Department of Public Health, informed me that the nasal spray form of vaccine can only be used on healthy persons from 2 to 49 years old, making it a good vaccine for health care and emergency workers.

The priority-list groups considered unsuited for the nasal spray are pregnant women, infants six months to 2 years old, and people 25 to 64 years old with serious underlying medical problems. They are being asked to line up for the flu shots expected in larger quantities around October 15.

The Illinois Department of Public Health oversees the orders and deliveries of all vaccines being distributed to providers outside of the City of Chicago, while the Chicago Department of Public Health will oversees the vaccines delivered their provider sites.

I want to reassure everyone in Chicago who wants a H1N1 flu shot that they will be able to get one within the next 90 days.

Because of the limited number of doses arriving next week, they will mainly be delivered to hospitals and health care workers. This first small shipment is just one of many much-larger ones that will be following in the next few weeks.