New Jersey is set to start receiving its first shipment of swine flu vaccine next week, Health Commissioner Heather Howard said today. The first vaccines will be in the form of a nasal mist, which is recommended only for healthy people between age 2 and 49 who are not pregnant. Injectable H1N1 vaccines are expected to follow in staggered shipments. Howard said the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has assured her there will be enough vaccine for everyone who wants it.

“So far, we have seen more influenza-like activity that we normally do in September. This is not unexpected. This is a cause for concern, but not a cause for alarm,” Howard said.

Seventeen people in New Jersey have died from the H1N1 virus. Health officials are still tracking the most serious cases but stopped tracking all positive results once they reached 1,000.

Most major health insurers in New Jersey have agreed to cover the swine flu vaccine when it becomes available and Gov. Jon S. Corzine has said the state will guarantee free swine flu vaccinations for New Jersey’s 1.3 million uninsured residents.

New Jersey has received nearly $40 million from the federal government to combat pandemic influenza. Much of the money is going directly to local and county health agencies to purchase and distribute vaccinations.

More than 2,000 providers have registered to receive the vaccines. AP