The good news is that swine flu vaccine is arriving in Lawrence County.

The bad news is that there still doesn’t seem to be very much of it.

Local pediatrician Dr. Carlos Flores reported this week that his office has received about 1,200 doses of the vaccine. But with that amount, he is restricting distribution to his regular patients.

So far, there is no word of any other vaccine reaching the county, and 1,200 doses isn’t going to satisfy public demand.

The county is hardly alone in that regard, as a delay in vaccine production is limiting supplies throughout the United States. Supposedly, that problem will be resolved in the next few weeks, but with local doctors and school officials indicating an upswing in swine flu cases now, the vaccine may be too late for a lot of people.

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Word that some swine flu vaccine had reached the county prompted a call to the Pennsylvania Health Department.

But what the New Castle News found was virtual silence. The department was not confirming how much — if any — of the vaccine was in the county and where it had been sent. Making that information available is up to the individual physicians’ offices and medical facilities that receive it.

We presume this is the health department’s response to having the vaccine in such short supply. Doling the vaccine out in this fashion with a layer of secrecy, however, strikes us as odd.

Absent official information, people seeking the swine flu vaccine are likely to make repeated calls to various offices, wasting time and staff resources. And inevitably, there will be suspicions of favoritism as to how the vaccine is distributed.

The vaccine shortage makes things difficult, but this system needs work.

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Considering state budget cuts, it’s no surprise to learn that the New Castle public library is reducing staff and hours.

That’s a basic financial reality. Although the library receives money from various sources, none was likely to step up and replace what Harrisburg had taken away.

Especially in the current economic climate.