Sebelius seeks to reassure on H1N1 vaccine

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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius took to the airways this morning to reassure the country that the vaccine to combat the swine flu outbreak is being produced as quickly as possible.

Over the weekend, President Obama declared a national health emergency, and television news was full of images of long lines of parents and children waiting for the H1N1 immunization shots. The presidential declaration is designed to give hospitals and health professionals the ability to respond by giving them some latitude from federal regulations.

Sebelius said the vaccine “is coming out the door as fast as it comes off the production line” but added that there had been delays in getting supplies out.

About 16.5-million doses of the vaccine have been produced, far fewer than the number needed.

‘I never like to see people inconvenienced,’ Sebelius said on ABC’s “Good Morning America.’ ‘If we had found the virus a little earlier, we could have started a little earlier.’

--Michael Muskal
twitter.com/latimesmuskal