Internet scam targets swine flu vaccine seekers

(AFP/THIERRY ZOCCOLAN)

US health officials on Thursday warned of an Internet scam doing the rounds which says all adults are required to register a personal swine flu vaccination profile with the federal authorities.

The bogus message says that although vaccination against pandemic (A)H1N1 flu is not obligatory, anyone aged 18 or older whether they have had the vaccine or not, is required to create a "personal H1N1 (swine flu) vaccination profile" with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

If recipients of the scam email try to comply with the message and click on a link it says will take them to the CDC website, they could be at risk of "having malicious code installed on their system," the CDC warned.

"The CDC has NOT implemented a state vaccination program requiring registration on www.cdc.gov," the federal health agency said in a statement.

When the United States launched a swine flu vaccination campaign in October, high demand was met by low supply, and many people were turned away empty-handed from free vaccination clinics.

The head of the CDC, Thomas Frieden, said this week that there are now around 70 million (A)H1N1 vaccine doses available.