On Monday, the federal government announced that the United States has 71 million unused doses of H1N1. With the health officials sounding warning about he seasonal flu that will be released in the fall , they said that getting the flu shot this year is now more critical than ever before. With 12,000 Americans being killed by H1N1, though the number of cases is now at a minimum, it's most certain for the deadly virus to return soon.

Kansas Depot of Health and Environment's Dr. Jason Eberhardt Phillips said, "We were dealing with an entirely new virus that the world had never seen before. We didn't know how serious the disease would be. We didn't know if it was treatable with drugs. We didn't know if we'd develop a vaccine in time to stop it. We were just flooded with questions and unknowns". He also said "When people start to get back from they're summer vacations or when the fall season arrives, we fully expect that this virus will resurge". It may noted that 162 million doses were produced and distributed but only 90 million actually got into people's arms or noses.

In a letter released on Monday by the Senator Chuck Grasley , the ranking Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, which he sent to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius , he wrote, "Depending on the vaccine manufacturer, the shelf life of the H1N1 vaccines range from 18 weeks to 18 months, with some due to expire on June 30, 2010. I understand that it is not uncommon for some seasonal flu vaccines to be discarded each year, but the H1N1 vaccines were paid for with taxpayer dollars. How many doses of vaccine are due to expire on June 30, 2010?" .

Hall however said the department will respond to Grassley. Hall said by email "There are approximately 71 million doses, held by states, the distributor or the manufacturers, that remain unused, and have varying expiration dates, some as long as early 2011. We have asked states to hold on to any vaccine that has not expired, in case we continue to have regional up ticks in disease, another wave, or another early start to the flu season. We are holding onto that vaccine (and advising states and vaccinators to hold onto theirs) until there is sufficient seasonal vaccine (which includes coverage for the 2009 H1N1 virus) to replace it"