Officials expecting rough start on H1N1 vaccination efforts

Public health officials are expecting a bumpy start to their H1N1 vaccination efforts.

Approximately 6 to 7 million doses of pandemic flu vaccine will be available in states as early as October 6.

Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Thomas Frieden, said Friday while it's good that some vaccine will be ready earlier than expected, the bad news is that the initial supply will probably run out quickly.

"The choice was between having vaccine stack up in warehouses until we had enough to distribute substantial quantities everywhere or getting it out as soon as it was available to use for distribution," Frieden said. "We think the only right answer, the only ethical answer there is, is to get it out as rapidly as possible, particularly since we have flu spreading widely."

A much larger supply of H1N1 vaccine should be available by mid to late October.