Running short

The swine flu epidemic has afflicted about 22 million Americans from April to October and killed nearly 4,000, including 540 children, the government announced Thursday.

In just half a year, H1N1 has caused 98,000 people to seek hospitalization, straining medical facilities in 48 states.

"We've been tracking influenza for decades," said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "What we are seeing in 2009 is unprecedented," she told USA Today.

"I am expecting all of these numbers, unfortunately, to continue to rise. We have a long flu season ahead of us," said Dr. Schuchat, director of the CDC's National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases.

No one knows how many people ultimately will contract the disease or when it will reach its peak. The new estimates reflect data taken from a variety of sources in 10 states.

Unfortunately, vaccine supplies continue to run low. Not quite 42 million doses are available, the Associated Press reported. Much more is needed.

The federal government has known for months that this epidemic was coming. Yet the vaccine supply to combat it is lacking.

In a typical flu season, 90 percent of the deaths and hospitalizations involve people older than 65. The swine flu is different: 90 percent of patients who become infected and require medical care are younger than 65.

An AP-GfK poll shows that one in six parents obtained vaccine for at least some of their children; 14 percent tried but could not find any.

Of adults seeking vaccine for themselves, three times as many have failed to find any as have succeeded.

The government needs to do what it can to meet the demand for more vaccine.