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Swine flu cases confirmed in Svalbard
First two patients don't require hospitalization; more vaccination shots available in three weeks

Aksel Bilicz, right, gives a vaccination for H1N1 flu to Tara Jakobsen, 3, as she's comforted by her father, Frank, at Longyearbyen Hospital on Oct. 24. The Svalbard governor's office reported Thursday the first two cases of the disease, also known as swine flu, have been confirmed in Longyearbyen. More information about the disease and preventative measures is available at www.pandemi.no.

Andreas Eriksson had no intention of getting a flu shot, but it wasn't due to conspiracy fears about the government attempting mass genocide or mind control. He just figured others like his 18-month-old daughter Joanna need the limited number of vaccinations available more.

Eriksson was among those standing in long lines at Longyearbyen Hospital as 500 doses of the H1N1 vaccine were offered Saturday and Tuesday. The timing was apt as the hospital confirmed the first two local cases of the disease, also known as swine flu, on Thursday.

Residents with flu-like symptoms have visited the hospital, but those with confirmed cases did not require hospitalization, according to a statement by the Svalbard governor's office.

Priority for vaccinations was given to those most vulnerable and at risk, including children and health care workers, with more vaccine expected to be available in about three weeks.

"All patients in risk groups that have signed up at the hospital have received the vaccine," the statement notes. "In addition, personnel from the hospital, fire department, airport and the governor's office received the vaccine."

All Svalbard residents, including those living in the Russian settlement of Barentsburg, will be offered vaccinations when new supplies arrive, the governor's office stated.

Jenny Jonsson, waiting with Eriksson for Joanna to her get shot Saturday, said her first inclination was not to get a vaccination because she's concerned overmedicating may cause problems by weakening the immune system. But seeing the impact of the H1N1 strain, which has killed nearly 5,000 people worldwide this year, changed her mind.

"With the deaths and the way the flu is spreading it makes sense to get it," she said.

About 2,000 people in Norway have been infected with the virus and ten people have died from it as of Friday, according to government health officials. Up to 50 percent of students in some schools and kindergartens are absent and authorities are recommending vaccinations for everyone living in Norway.

Pregnant women and people with diabetes are among those considered most at risk. They and other Longyearbyen residents similarly classified were allowed first access to vaccinations Saturday and again when about 100 remaining doses were administered Tuesday.

Many others, including those lining up before Saturday's general public offering at 1 p.m., waited more than an hour as patients were brought in small groups to a room where shots were provided. Aksel Bilicz, a doctor at the hospital, said at 2 p.m. he planned to ask those not in high-risk groups to return Tuesday to ensure those most in need were cared for.

But on Tuesday the doctor told arriving locals the remaining doses would be limited to at-risk patients due to high demand. While a worldwide shortage of vaccine has resulted in frustration in many other places, there didn't appear to be overt grumbling at the news.

Some countries are facing a "no-win" situation with vaccinations, as anger about the shortage is counterbalanced by those incensed at officials' high-profile campaigns urging the shots. Accusations of everything from drug companies profiteering by overhyping the disease to governments using the shots as "biological weapons of mass destruction for targeted populations" are rampant even beyond the fringe corners of the internet. Polls in countries such as France, Canada and the United States show large majorities don't intend to get vaccinations, although up to 70 percent in Sweden say they intend to do so.

Frank Jakobsen, a lifelong Svalbard resident at the hospital Saturday with his daughter Tara, 3, said he's heard the various concerns, but isn't too worried about them.

"I don't think they would give something to people that is doing harm," he said. "It's not a bigger risk than getting the flu."

More information about the virus and preventative measures is available in Norwegian and English at www.pandemi.no.

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