The swine flu epidemic of 2009 caught Mexico, the United States and Canada by surprise. The entire world was on edge learning that a potentially worldwide epidemic was occurring. The swine flu appeared in Mexico first. This then spread sporadically northward towards the US and spread slowly to other countries. This was thought because of the frequency of people traveling through the air. Recorded infections around the world were confirmed but the initial few weeks proved that the virus was much less infectious than first thought. This made health officials sigh with relief, but the effort to ensure that the virus stayed a minimal risk, deployment of vaccination was carried out as quickly as possible.

Within months, the vaccines were made available to the public. The first to receive the vaccinations were the officials and important members of the government and their families. This was then extended to the greater public after the initial vaccines were deployed. This eventually led to a shortage of the vaccine and created a worrisome scare to the portions of the United States which fell short. With the increase in cases that were making themselves evident, it seemed inevitable that the disease would spread like wildfire.

Near the end of the year, the vaccines were highly available when the third wave of the disease was already in motion. By this time most individuals were able to receive vaccinations, many of them offered free through several companies. Although not everyone was vaccinated against the disease, the spread seemed limited and many of the unvaccinated people went without infection. The vaccine is still available and is possible to be received by those who have not been vaccinated yet. Children require two vaccinations within a certain time frame to ensure the effectiveness of the vaccine.