A total of 240,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine will be available here this week, and the Health Ministry says priority groups will be targeted for vaccination first.

Those within the high risks groups are children under five-years-old, pregnant women, persons with asthma and health workers.

The Ministry of Health noted that other groups will be considered for vaccination since there will not be enough vaccines in the first instance.

According to a senior Health Ministry official, distribution of the vaccines might not begin until December.

The Region, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), through the Revolving Fund, an organisation established in 1977 for mass procurement which benefits several small countries, was able to acquire 200 million doses of the vaccine.

This amount will be used in Latin America and the Caribbean Region; and while 240,000 doses will be made available for use in Guyana, the Health Ministry reports that the country needs 400,000 to 500,000 doses.

Additionally, the Health Ministry official described Guyana as “lucky” since the country has not had an avalanche of cases and has had no deaths related to the H1N1 virus.

In the United States there have been 4,000 reported deaths.

Here the number of confirmed H1N1 cases remains at 17 and those affected are individuals between the ages of 15 and 40.

According to the Health Ministry, since the H1N1 virus spreads like the seasonal flu, persons should adhere to health advisories. Among these are:

* Covering the nose and mouth with tissue when coughing or sneezing and throwing it into the trash.

* Washing hands often, with soap and water, especially after coughing or sneezing;

* Avoiding touching the eyes, nose or mouth as germs are easily spread that way;

* Trying to avoid close contact with sick people and

* Staying at home if sick for seven days after symptoms of the illness surface or until you have been symptoms-free for 24 hours, whichever is longer, to keep you from infecting others and spreading the virus further.

The Ministry of Health official also stated that new equipment for testing for HINI , costing some $8M, is installed at the National Public Health Reference Laboratory (NPHRL) and routine testing will commence on December 1.

Training of the technicians at the laboratory, though delayed, is also expected to get underway soon with technical assistance from a Centre for Disease Control (CDC) specialist.

The training is expected to be completed by the end of the month as Guyana continues to build its capacity to respond to the H1N1 epidemic.