H1N1 vaccine begins to arrive locally

NEW ORLEANS - The first shipments of the H1N1 vaccine have begun to arrive in the New Orleans area.

The vaccines that are available now are a mist, which is sprayed in the nose. It is only approved for healthy people between the ages of 2 and 49 years old.

Babies, children with asthma, pregnant women and older adults need to wait for the vaccine that will be injected.

"It's just beginning to come in and this is going to roll out over the next few months," said Pediatrician Michael Wasserman. "This is not going to, unfortunately, happen as quickly as we want. The technology of making the vaccine is tough. It's not just putting a bunch of chemicals into a vat, but the virus actually has to be grown live in eggs and then and then processed. It's the same technique that's been used for many years in making the flu vaccine. Io?I'm very comfortable with the technique. It's just taking a while."

Doctors say the vaccine is safe. Some of the initial testing was done in Metairie.