Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis AG announced the arrival of the first batch of the H1N1 virus vaccine on June 12, but it may take months to reach Louisiana, according to Jimmy Guidry, State Health Officer and Medical Director for the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.The H1N1 virus, also known as swine flu, is the first influenza pandemic since 1968, according to the World Health Organization, and has affected 158 Louisiana   residents, including 24 cases in East Baton Rouge Parish.While swine flu has been generally mild, those anxious for answers about the vaccine may find themselves waiting at least until flu season.”The process of producing the vaccine and making sure [it] is safe … takes time,” Guidry said. “When they find out how many doses they’ll have, they’ll be deciding how they’re going to distribute it, and who’s going to be recommended to receive it.”Because flu season in Louisiana normally starts around January or February and seasonal flu vaccines are usually given around October and November, the public probably won’t get any answers  regarding the swine flu vaccine until this fall, Guidry said.In the meantime, the DDH and the Office of Public Health are preparing.”We do a lot of planning around what we would do as medical professionals if large numbers of people start getting sick,” Guidry said. “We do tabletop drills with hospitals, we’ve provided some continued education at no charge to medical providers so that they can learn more about this virus, all getting ready for what could be a busy flu season.”In the beginning of last school year, Guidry said the DDH and OPH also conducted mass vaccination drills, which will help them if the vaccine does become available.But preparations for the Student Health Center are being put on hold until more information is provided, said Dr. Timothy Honigman, Health Center Chief of Medical Staff.”We’ve been doing the same flu vaccination program every year,” Honigman said. “And almost every year we give out the same number of flu shots …  so we haven’t done anything to prepare [for a busier flu season] just yet. We’ve been in preparation for a bird flu pandemic for several years and have a protocol, so that preparation has sort of helped us with [swine flu] coming around.”Honigman said the Health Center is waiting for the FDA to approve the vaccine and make it available to the public before making any decisions.”A swine flu strain will either be included in the regular flu vaccine in the fall or … produced separately and given in conjunction with the regular flu vaccine,” Honigman said. “And when [the vaccine] does become available, we’ll have it.”But the availability and future distributors of the vaccine are mainly dependent on how much of the vaccine is produced, Guidry said.”If we had large numbers of the vaccine … we can go through the health care process and … several markets,” Guidry said. “If there’s not a lot of the vaccine available, it will probably [be distributed] through the government [to] people who are most at risk of getting deathly ill. The CDC usually gives a protocol on who should get the vaccine should that happen.”Another determinant of when the vaccine will become available is the swine flu itself.”If you look in past history, one [pandemic] in 1918 came out in the spring then waned … in the summer,” Guidry said. “But then it came back with a vengeance in the winter. That’s … why we’re watching this virus. Most experts feel that … we’re more than likely [to] see resurgence in the winter. The question is if it’s going to be just a mild flu like it is now or a virus that … has mutated to where it causes more disease.”If the swine flu mutates, the scientists who worked to create the current vaccine will be “back to square one,” Guidry said.But both Guidry and Honigman wanted to remind people that the vaccine is not necessary for most people, so there is no reason to panic if the vaccine is not obtained by flu season.”People don’t take common illnesses seriously until they see something new like [swine flu],” Guidry said. “There are things around that are probably more deadly that they don’t pay nearly as much attention to. So the main thing is that they keep themselves informed, don’t panic and … follow [health officials’] advice.”—-Contact Natalie Roy at [email protected]