The first shipments of the Novel H1N1 flu vaccine are expected to arrive in South Carolina next week, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control reported today.

“We anticipate over 25,000 doses of the nasal spray vaccine are on their way to this state,” said Jerry Gibson, M.D., chief of DHEC’s Bureau of Disease Control. “The nasal spray, which will be the first of the shipments, is safe and has been extensively tested. We anticipate the injectable vaccines will begin arriving shortly after that.”

The DHEC Web site at www.scdhec.gov/flu will have updated information about where and when DHEC clinics will provide the H1N1 vaccine.