By Tony McVeigh
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wuky/local-wuky-868374.mp3
Frankfort, KY – To date, Kentucky has been allocated 342-thousand doses of H1N1, or swine flu, vaccine and 215-thousand doses have been shipped to the state. Over half of those are the injectible form of the vaccine. But State Epidemiologist Dr. Kraig Humbaugh says that still covers only a small percentage of the population. "We've moved up from coverage of about four percent of the population to about eight percent of the population." "Even though we've doubled the number of doses that are potentially available, many of those will be coming next week. Just because they've been allocated, it takes awhile for the health departments to order, and then for them to receive their shipments, but many will be coming next week."
State Health Commissioner Dr. William Hacker says swine flu still has not proven more virulent that seasonal flu, but it does appear to affect young people more seriously than older Kentuckians. He says that's likely because many older residents were exposed to a swine flu strain earlier in their lives.