A doctor shows how the H1N1 vaccine will be administered. Photograph: Thomas Lohnes/AFP/Getty Images

Family doctors have secured a deal with the government over their payments for giving patients a swine flu jab, it was announced , allowing the final arrangements for vaccination to be put in place.

GPs will be paid £5.25 for each jab they give. The wrangle over payments has been going on all summer. Doctors represented by the British Medical Association appear to have reduced their demands from an initial level of almost £7 a shot. They are paid £7.50 a patient to give the seasonal flu vaccine.

Although the government has ordered enough vaccine for the entire population, the vaccination programme expected to begin in the autumn – once the vaccine receives a licence – will target the 9 million people most at risk from swine flu, the government said today.

Whether the rest of the population is then offered a jab will depend on the evolution of the pandemic, it said. If it continues to be mild, vaccination will not be introduced universally.

GPs stand to gain more than £42m, which they say will be spent on contacting patients, administering the vaccine and if necessary taking on extra staff. A statement from the Department of Health noted that "the vaccine will reduce the number of people needing hospital and intensive care treatment and save the NHS money in the long run".

The health secretary, Andy Burnham, said the deal was "great news for patients". He added: "I am glad that we have reached a fair deal with the GPC [general practitioners' committee of the BMA] and I am pleased that GPs will continue to play a key role in the fight against swine flu. They have already worked incredibly hard in what have been very difficult circumstances to help their patients."

Dr Laurence Buckman, chairman of the GPs' committee, said it believed family doctors were the best people to administer the vaccine. "This will be a lot of additional work for practices, but general practice is used to running large vaccination programmes. We are confident that GPs and their teams will have the resources they need in order to run the swine flu vaccination programme smoothly and efficiently." Four groups of people were identified as the first who will be summoned for a flu jab in England:

• People aged over six months and under 65 who are currently considered to be at risk from normal winter flu because of health conditions such as asthma or heart conditions ‑ about 5 million people.

• All pregnant women, unless the regulatory authorities impose restrictions on the stage of pregnancy in which it is safe to vaccinate ‑ about 500,000.

• Household contacts of people with compromised immune systems, such as people in regular close contact with patients on treatment for cancer ‑ about 500,000.

• People aged 65 and over in the current seasonal flu vaccine clinical at-risk groups ‑ about 3.5 million. This does not include otherwise healthy over-65s, since they appear to have some natural immunity to the virus.

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In an interview live from his New York City apartment Monday, Smith told CBS viewers he started feeling achy and feverish over the weekend after a 25-mile bike ride in the rain and dancing all night at a birthday party.

"Early Show" medical correspondent Dr. Jennifer Ashton said Smith could be right because his symptoms are associated with swine flu. She praised him for staying home and out of circulation.

Dr. Ashton, who was in the studio Monday morning, along with Maggie Rodriguez, told Smith that he had done the right thing for staying home, and protecting his co-workers.

Ashton said most swine flu cases are mild. She predicted Smith will be back on the "Early Show" couch in a couple of days.

The nation's first round of swine flu shots could begin sooner than expected, with some vaccine available as early as the first week of October, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Sunday.

According to the CDC, there is flu activity in all 50 states and 98 percent of the viruses going around the country right now are the H1N1 virus.

Symptoms of swine flu can include fever, cough, congestion, aches, chills, diarrhea and vomiting.



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Teachers Ordered To Monitor Cleaning Of Hands In Morning, Before And After Lunch And After Every Restroom Visit

Jersey City To Eventually Have Sanitizers In 3,000 Classrooms

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBS) ―

The Jersey City school district is taking a proactive measure to fight swine flu. By November, every single classroom, that's 3,000 of them, will be equipped with hand sanitizers.

"As many times as they can, that's what I'd like for them to do. That's our preventive method to ensure to the parents and to the community and to the students that our children are safe healthwise," said Superintendant Dr. Charles T. Epps. "Best way to keep them safe."

The superintendent said students will be required to sanitize their hands when they walk into the class in the morning, before and after lunch, and after each restroom visit.

In fact, he said they'll be monitored by teachers.

"Yes, I would do it. I think you're only being being clean and protective," said Sapphire Howell, high school student.

The first batch of hand sanitizers will arrive at the schools toward the end of the month. Infectious disease specialists said it's the best way to to prevent the spread of swine flu, and parents agree.

"It's a great thing. It's just something that should have been done years ago," said parent Sherra Roberts.

Students will also receive preventive information in their health classes and maintenance workers will be extra vigilant, wiping down door knobs and desk tops.

"I think what this is going to do is encourage students to go out and buy their own hand sanitizers and put them in their pocketbooks and put them in their pockets," Epps said.

The cost to the district is around $100,000 but officials tell us the cost is well-worth it if it means keeping students healthy.

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