With vaccine becoming more widely available and the general public eligible, dozens of free clinics are scheduled throughout the region in the next few weeks.
And with swine flu almost completely gone, at least for the moment, health officials' concerns seem to be shifting. Rather than fretting over inadequate supplies of vaccine, they are worrying that there might be too little public demand.
Nearly 300 people showed up at Burlington County's two clinics yesterday. The lower numbers could reflect earlier successes in vaccinating highest-risk groups through public-health clinics, schools, and doctors' offices. But they could also reflect a lack of interest.
The Pennsylvania Department of Health, anticipating a third wave of swine flu this winter or spring, is airing public-service announcements to encourage immunization.
"You might wonder, Do I need the novel H1N1 flu vaccine?" Stephen Ostroff, the state's acting physician general, asks in one spot broadcast this week.
Ostroff answers his own question: Pregnant women, yes. Infant caregivers, yes. Aged 6 months to 24 years, yes. Chronically ill and under 65, yes.
Around the country, demand for the vaccine has varied from place to place, partly because disease outbreaks have not been uniform.
"We definitely are worried about people becoming complacent and thinking that this is all over," Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said yesterday. "We could very easily experience a surge in [flu] activity after the new year when schools are back in session."
About 120 million doses of the swine flu vaccine have been allocated to the states, and most have been distributed to providers, Skinner said. That is more than the 114 million doses of seasonal flu vaccine that manufacturers shipped earlier this year, he said.
