newjerseynewsroom.com

BY SUSAN JONES

CNSNEWS.COM

Vaccination is one of the most effective ways to minimize suffering and death from influenza, the Health and Human Services Department says on its Web site.

But some senior citizens complain they've been left off the list of people who will be first in line to get the swine flu vaccination, when it is ready. One CNSNews.com reader suggested the omission is in line with the Obama's administration's plan to "minimize" health care for the elderly, as the reader put it.

On its Flu.gov Web page, HHS says the government is working to produce enough vaccine for the entire population, but there will be shortages when a vaccine first becomes available — probably in mid-October.

That means the "limited supply" will have to be "prioritized for distribution and administration."

On July 29, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices — a group that advises the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — recommended that novel H1N1 flu vaccine be made available first to the following five groups:

• Pregnant women
• Health care workers and emergency medical responders
• People caring for infants under 6 months of age
• Children and young adults from 6 months to 24 years
• People aged 25 to 64 years with underlying medical conditions (e.g. asthma, diabetes)

Senior citizens left off fed's swine-flu vaccine priority list