Like so many others, we're a little concerned about the speed -- or lack thereof -- with which H1N1 flu vaccinations are making to the people.

While the federal government has purchased 250 million doses of the vaccine, an extremely small percentage of Americans have been able to receive them. As of Monday, only 30 million doses were available.

To date, there have been 1,000 U.S. citizens die from the H1N1 flu. Fourteen of them were from Kansas. We remain convinced this pandemic is overblown since 40,000 Americans die annually from whatever seasonal influenza is making the rounds.

Our sympathies are with each and every family that has lost somebody to the so-called swine flu, but do not believe there is any need for panic. The vaccine will eventually be administered to everybody who wants it.

Our concern lies with the production and distribution networks. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the first case of H1N1 in this country was confirmed April 15. Eleven days later, the federal government declared a public health emergency. Since then, the government has been "actively and aggressively implementing the nation's pandemic response plan."

This week, almost seven months later, the National Institutes of Health is reporting positive results from clinical trials. An NIH physician reported "there are very strong data to indicate the vaccination will protect you."

That's good news. But it also was a long time coming.

There are many obstacles preventing an expeditious response. Each one deserves close scrutiny by the government -- and solutions designed to eliminate them.

* All flu vaccines in this country are developed by growing viruses inside chicken eggs. Chickens can only lay eggs so fast and the volume limits the amount of virus grown. By contrast, cell-based technology used in Europe decreases development time from 24 weeks to 13 weeks.

* At the beginning of each year, the CDC attempts to predict what new virus strains will hit the country nine to 12 months later. If the prediction is wrong, manufacturers are stuck with a very expensive stockpile of unwanted vaccine.

* There are only six pharmaceutical companies manufacturing flu vaccines. Of the six, only four are large-scale operations. Manufacturing capacity is strained when multiple influenzas strike at the same time.

While testing and clinical trials take time as well, we're not in favor of sacrificing safety for the sake of speed. But the other factors would appear ripe for expansion or streamlining.

We're just glad the virus isn't any more deadly than it has proven so far. Were this a real public health emergency, the extremely slow vaccination pace would have been disastrous.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net