H1N1: Revisited

This morning I was able to expand my personal knowledge about influenza vaccinations and the H1N1 virus that was previously a topic on this blog. As a member of the Athol-Orange Emergency Preparedness Committee I have the opportunity to attend meetings at Athol Hospital about every six weeks. As I expected would be, the major topic of discussion was the upcoming flu season and the added danger of an H1N1 outbreak. I learned some very valuable information that I believe needs to be shared with anyone who is willing to read.

There are Two Types of Seasonal Influenza Vaccination – H1N1 Vaccine is a Third
Inactivated - this is actually “killed” vaccine that is given in the “flu shot” by injection into the muscle.

Live, attenuated – this is weakened influenza vaccine that is sprayed into the nostrils. For the use of this type of vaccine, it is very important that the person who is taking it is healthy, and not experiencing any type of illness.

Novel H1N1 Vaccine – the term “novel” is applied to this vaccination to indicate that it is the only one of its kind – in a sense H1N1 is the only occurrence of this strain of influenza.

Timelines
The general (seasonal) influenza vaccine is going to be released within a week with the recommendation from the Center for Disease Control that those responsible for its distribution begin earlier this year than in previous years. This is because the H1N1 vaccine is likely to be released in October. It is also possible that the H1N1 vaccine will be given in two separate injections that are a number of days apart.

Distribution
Normally the general (seasonal) vaccine is shipped to over 3,000 locations in Massachusetts. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health stated in today’s conference call that the H1N1 vaccine would only be shipped to 1,800 specific sites. It was stated that there is likely to be significantly less supply of Novel H1N1 vaccine than the supply of seasonal influenza vaccine. I was also provided with information from the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services that specified an order in which the vaccination would be distributed. These efforts will focus first on the following target groups:

• Pregnant Women
• Household and caregiver contacts of children younger than 6 months of age
• Health care emergency medical services personnel
• Children from 6 months to 18 years old
• Persons aged 19 – 24
• Persons aged 25 – 64 years who have medical conditions associated with higher risk conditions.

The Importance of School Involvement
To date in Massachusetts nearly 63% of the reported cases of H1N1 influenza have been confirmed to be in those between the ages of 0 – 18 years old. In this group of nearly 900 children there was one fatality. The school day is characterized by many students seated in classrooms in which they are not far apart from one another. Students in the middle and high school are more likely to shake hands, high five, and/or hug and kiss. It is imperative that we continue to educate our students on the importance of hand washing and proper hygiene. It is our hope that the H1N1 vaccine along with healthy practices that we continually remind our students to practice will limit the incidence of H1N1 and seasonal influenza in our community.