As the state Department of Health begins initial distribution of the H1N1 vaccine, questions, concerns and misconceptions about the vaccine continue their own virus-like spread.

Earlier this week, a Hawai'i County Council committee voted in favor of a resolution that labeled the vaccine unsafe due to inclusion of the preservative thimerosal and called on federal and state officials to exempt those who do not want to receive the vaccine from any mandatory vaccination program.

The resolution was met with a mix of bemusement and consternation by DOH staff and other public health professionals.

The claims themselves were easy enough to dismiss: Numerous scientific studies have refuted the purported link between thimerosal — which contains low amounts of mercury — and autism, and the vaccination program is completely voluntary. (Thimerosal-free vaccines are also being made available to encourage broader participation in the program).

However, the incident underscored a lingering and — to many physicians — curious distrust of the H1N1 vaccine, even as the government moves quickly to address an anticipated surge in H1N1 cases this fall.

To try to curb the spread of the virus, the country is in the midst of a massive immunization effort that will make the vaccine available to millions of Americans.

In an Associated Press-GfK poll conducted July 16 to 20, 51 percent of respondents indicated they were either "very likely" or "somewhat likely" to get the H1N1 vaccination. Among the 48 percent who indicated that they were unlikely to get the shot were 32 percent who said they were "strongly unlikely" to get it.

While 67 percent of respondents indicated that they felt confident that the vaccine would protect them and their family, a similar percentage (68 percent) indicated that they were concerned about side effects.

Dr. Galen Chock, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics-Hawai'i Chapter, said only 10 percent to 20 percent of parents he's met with have indicated that they won't have their children vaccinated for H1N1.

"There are a few who are saying that it is too new and they'll wait until next year," he said. "It's nothing specific but a general concern about it being pushed through too quickly.

"The majority are planning to get it. It's just a matter of when we get it and how much."

On Monday, the state health department received its first shipment of the new vaccine.

As of yesterday, the department had received approximately 10,000 doses, according to Dr. Sarah Park, state epidemiologist and chief of the department's Disease Outbreak Division.

The initial shipments were of a vaccine inhaler that contains a live, attenuated (weakened) virus. The FluMist vaccine is not recommended for pregnant women or people with asthma.

Subsequent shipments, which could arrive early next week, are expected to include inactivated-virus vaccines to be given by injection.

Vaccination priority is being given to five high-risk groups identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the President's Advisory Committee on Immunizations: health care and emergency medical services personnel with direct patient contact; pregnant women; household contacts and caregivers for children younger than six months; everyone age 6 months through 24 years; and anyone age 25 through 64 who has health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza.

"We're trying to make the vaccine available to everybody in the most equitable way possible," Park said. "Everybody who wants to get the vaccine should be able to get it, but everyone has a place in line and we want to take care of our most vulnerable populations first."

Addressing concerns about the vaccine's safety, Park said clinical trials conducted to determine the dosage necessary to build immunity found that the H1N1 vaccine poses no greater risk for serious complications than the annual seasonal flu vaccines.

Park emphasized that, as with regular flu vaccine, it takes roughly two weeks for a vaccinated person to develop the antibodies to immunize them against H1N1. Thus a person could still easily contract the virus if exposed during this interim.

"This is why some people think that they got the flu from the vaccination," she said. "It's scientifically impossible to get the flu from a flu vaccination."

Park said people with egg allergies are not eligible to be vaccinated, as the vaccines are grown in chicken eggs.

The state health department recently updated its Web site to include comprehensive information on H1N1 and the state's plans for distributing the vaccine.

F. DeWolfe Miller, a professor of epidemiology at the University of Hawai'i, said concerns about the speed and scale of the H1N1 immunization effort are an indication of how little the public knows about ongoing government efforts to protect public health.

"This is the same extraordinary effort it takes to get seasonal flu vaccines on the market every year," he said. "There was extra effort to determine efficacy, but by and large it's the same thing. People either don't realize or take for granted what goes on behind the scenes."

Miller, for one, said he fully intends to get a H1N1 vaccination when he can.

"My concern isn't with getting the vaccination," he said. "It's with not getting it."