Redwood Times
Shipments of the vaccine for H1N1 (”swine flu”) have come in more slowly than expected but Humboldt County should have enough to vaccinate everyone in the immunization target groups within the next month, according to Dr. Ann Lindsay, County Public Health Officer.
Target groups include: pregnant women, children and young people from six months to 24 years of age, parents and caretakers of children less than 6 months old, persons 24 to 64 with chronic diseases, and health care workers.
The county has been holding immunization clinics in schools throughout the county since November 2 to reach schoolchildren, one of the most important groups for vaccination, Lindsay said.
Redway Elementary School and South Fork High School will be the sites for Southern Humboldt clinics as soon as vaccine is available and arrangements can be made. Schools will receive two weeks’ notice so that permission slips can be sent to parents, as children will not be vaccinated without their parents’ written permission.
Most of the vaccine distributed by County Health so far is in nasal spray form, which is particularly helpful for children. Children who have asthma or other problems that interfere with breathing will need vaccination by injection.
Public Health has already held school immunization clinics in Eureka, Fortuna, Loleta, and Willow Creek.
Additionally, some health providers, who contract directly with the manufacturers for supplies of vaccine, have received at least part of their share. Clinics that provide prenatal and obstetric services, like Redwoods Rural Health Center in Redway, have already received some vaccine for pregnant women, another important target group.
All flu vaccines, including H1N1, are made using chicken eggs, Lindsay said. The limited supply of eggs and the slow process of making vaccine have contributed to the delay. Additionally, manufacturers overestimated their production capabilities.
Unlike ordinary seasonal flu, H1N1 strikes younger people and makes them sicker than older people. Although this strain is unique, it is similar to other H1N1 strains, including a version that caused a pandemic in 1957. This means that older people may have developed immunities because of their previous exposure.
H1N1 is not seasonal like most flu strains, which decrease in the summer. Biologically, flu virus thrives in cool, damp air and diminishes in warm, dry air - except for H1N1, which seems unaffected by weather conditions.
In many cases, the risk of getting H1N1 is dramatically reduced by vaccination. A pregnant woman, for example, is six times less likely to get H1N1 if she has been vaccinated. Additionally, her immunity is passed to her fetus, who will be safe from this strain of flu until six months after birth.
Dr. Lindsay encouraged health care workers to get the vaccine to protect themselves so that they can continue to care for their patients, and to prevent spreading H1N1 to patients. A person with H1N1 can pass on the disease even before symptoms emerge.
Likewise, having your children vaccinated benefits the entire community, Dr. Lindsay said. Illnesses spread quickly in schools and play groups, and then the children pass the illness to their siblings and parents.
The spread of H1N1 has been tracked and quantified since it first appeared last spring. Statistics indicate that vaccinating 30 percent of the population of Humboldt County would reduce the incidence of H1N1 by 50 percent. If 50 percent of Humboldt residents were vaccinated, only a small fraction of the population would get sick.
In Humboldt County so far this year, 32 people, with ages ranging from three years to 70 years, have been hospitalized with H1N1. Three people have died from the disease in the county.
Regarding the safety of H1N1 vaccines, Dr. Lindsay stated that this vaccine is made in exactly the same way as seasonal flu vaccine. People have been vaccinated for seasonal flu for approximately 20 years with an extremely low rate of serious side effects.
The majority of flu vaccine includes a stabilizing agent called thimerisol, which contains a minute amount of mercury. The amount of mercury in one dose of vaccine has been calculated at one-sixtieth the amount in a can of tuna fish, Dr. Lindsay says.
Federal law requires that vaccine used to immunize pregnant women and children under three years does not contain thimerisol, due to concern that this substance may cause or contribute to autism.
The law has been in effect for several years, Dr. Lindsay continued, so the rate of autism should have diminished if thimerisol is a factor. This has not happened: new cases of autism are occurring at the same rate as previously.
”I would have been happy if autism rates had gone down because it would have identified at least one cause of autism,” Dr. Lindsay said, “but unfortunately that is not the case.”
In addition to vaccination, people can protect themselves from H1N1 by good hygiene and health habits. She praised the schools for teaching children “anti-flu etiquette” - frequent hand washing, sneezing and coughing into your elbow, and so on. She also commended the children for their enthusiasm in helping to educate their families.
Symptoms of H1N1 are sudden onset of fever, chills, headache, body aches, and cold-like symptoms. Vomiting and diarrhea may also occur. H1N1 infection can spread deep into the lungs, causing a life-threatening situation.
Dr. Lindsay cautions people against going to the doctor as soon as they feel sick. The best treatment for viral illness is the tried-and-true: bed rest, plenty of fluids, and analgesics such as Tylenol for body aches and fever.
On the other hand, it’s time to see the doctor if the patient has difficulty breathing or is short of breath. Additionally, seek medical attention immediately for children with a rash or bluish skin color, or if they are not drinking enough fluids, not waking up or interacting with people, being so irritable that they don’t want to be held, or getting worse after seeming better.
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