BY LAURA WEBER
Michigan Public Radio Network
State health officials say H1N1 flu vaccinations are hard to find because the supply sent by the Centers for Disease Control is much smaller than was promised.
The state House Health Policy Committee held a hearing about the H1N1 virus Tuesday.
Doctor Greg Holzman testified with representatives from the Department of Community Health. He says manufacturing of the vaccine is going slower than anticipated.
"It's put us in an awkward situation because we really thought we were going to be a lot further along right now," he said. "We were continuously told by mid-October around 45 million doses and we're not anywhere close to that."
But Dr. Holzman says vaccines will continue to come into the state throughout the flu-season.
Janet Olszewski is director of the Department of Community Health. She says about 1,200 new doctors in Michigan registered to administer the H1N1 vaccine.
"We have more doctors providing H1N1 vaccine in this state than we've ever had doctors providing vaccine previously," she said. "So then we get to a supply issue - ultimately the supply will get to us, but every week the Centers for Disease Control has provided us with estimates of how much vaccine we can order and receive in this state and they've not met any of those goals.
Olszewski says she expects there will be much more H1N1 vaccine available by the end of the year.
She says parents should keep any children with the flu at home for five to seven days.
The health officials say people should check the state Department of Community Health website for vaccination availability in each county.
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