Is there an immunization schedule for the Swine Flu?

Answer 1

Flu vaccines are given annually because the flu viruses are able to mutate rapidly into new forms that last year's flu vaccine may not be able to combat. So the schedule would be annually about a month prior to the start of the local flu season.

Flu season is in the time of the US fall and winter in the Northern Hemisphere and in the time of the US spring and summer in the Southern Hemisphere.

A one time vaccination is all that is needed for the Swine Flu (this vaccine is contained in the 2011-2012 annual seasonal flu vaccine, a separate immunization is not required for swine flu any more) in adults who are healthy.

Children under 10 will need two vaccinations to be fully protected since their immune systems are not robust enough to provide immunity after a single dose of vaccine. These two vaccinations are given a month apart and after another 3 to 4 weeks from the second immunization, immunity should have been achieved.

Infants under 6 months can not be vaccinated at all for the flu since their immune systems are too immature to introduce any infectious organisms.

People with suppressed immune systems from diseases or from medicines like transplant anti-rejection medications may not have a proper response to vaccines at all and they should not use live vaccines like are in the flu intranasal vaccines, they should have the injections of the vaccines made with "dead" viruses.