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Flu activity so far is H1N1; vaccine coming soon
By Molly Salisbury
Dr. Hasmukh Harde, a pediatrician with a private practice in Hudson, says his office has never been so busy. The sick children started to trickle in about three weeks ago, and Harde expects to see many more H1N1 cases, until, as Harde puts it, “everyone gets it.” So far, his office has vaccinated about 200 children. “Initially, we gave it [selectively] to babies, and children with babies in the house. But now we are giving it to anyone.”
Nancy Winch, the Columbia County Public Health director, is expecting a shipment of the vaccination in by the end of the week. Flu clinics will be posted on the Columbia County Web site as soon as the vaccine is in hand. Presently, the calls she is receiving are “mostly from people who want to know when and where can I get the vaccine.”
Getting an accurate count of the number of people who have had or have H1N1 flu in Columbia County isn’t possible, partially because testing is only being done on those sick enough to go to the hospital. Harde says the Centers for Disease Control is recommending not to test everyone exhibiting symptoms for H1N1, because CDC is assuming if you have the symptoms, you have the H1N1 flu. The CDC doesn’t discuss the spread of the virus in terms of number of cases, but rather in terms of the regions to which it has spread, and in New York the virus is “widespread.”
Winch reiterates that “almost all of the flu activity so far this fall is caused by the H1N1 flu virus.” The seasonal flu is expected to make an appearance later in the season.
The Columbia County Department of Health advises that with the flu spreading quickly and not enough vaccination to go around, one preventative measure is to stay at home if you are sick. H1N1 is a flu virus quite different from the regular yearly flu, and this is why the bulk of the population doesn’t have antibodies already built up against it.
Priority groups to receive the H1N1 vaccine are pregnant women, children and younger people ages 6 months through 24 years, people who live with or provide care for infants under 6 months and people ages 25 to 64 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for flu-related complications — like asthma.
Health care workers and emergency medical services personnel are also considered a priority group. This August, the New York state Health Department adopted a regulation requiring all health care workers across the state to be vaccinated for H1N1. The mandate has since been lifted.
The shot was supposed to be administered a while back but due to a longer production time health care workers are still being vaccinated. According to Dr. Ananthakrishnan Ramani, an infectious disease specialist at Columbia Memorial Hospital, a doctor on staff at Columbia Memorial went home “because she had the flu.” Her vaccine had already been administered — but only five days before she went home sick. It takes two weeks for the vaccine to become effective.
Not all health care workers were comfortable about the vaccine. Four nurses in Albany began the process of suing state Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines to prevent the mandatory vaccination. Their reasons included a belief that the vaccination may be dangerous. Public opinion and fears regarding the H1N1 vaccination are considerably upped when credible persons — like nurses — express concern.
Ramani is well aware of the distrust, and fields questions in the hallways and calls from concerned residents all the time. He says he’s been vaccinated and his daughter is going to be vaccinated at her school. Winch says medical reactions to the vaccination are being watched very carefully, and that a task force has been set up to oversee the vaccine’s effectiveness. “The vaccine is made in the same plants the same way the other seasonal flu is made. So far they’ve not seen any true adverse reactions,” she said.
There are various theories and potential reasons to worry floating around, causing some people to distrust the H1N1 vaccine and choose not to get vaccinated. One fear is that there hasn’t been enough time to effectively test the vaccination, and another is the concern about the health problems caused the last time a mass vaccination campaign was conducted for swine flu in 1976.
According to Ramani, the vaccine is safe. “Safer than the disease. I can tell you that,” he said.
Nancy Winch, the Columbia County Public Health director, is expecting a shipment of the vaccination in by the end of the week. Flu clinics will be posted on the Columbia County Web site as soon as the vaccine is in hand. Presently, the calls she is receiving are “mostly from people who want to know when and where can I get the vaccine.”
Getting an accurate count of the number of people who have had or have H1N1 flu in Columbia County isn’t possible, partially because testing is only being done on those sick enough to go to the hospital. Harde says the Centers for Disease Control is recommending not to test everyone exhibiting symptoms for H1N1, because CDC is assuming if you have the symptoms, you have the H1N1 flu. The CDC doesn’t discuss the spread of the virus in terms of number of cases, but rather in terms of the regions to which it has spread, and in New York the virus is “widespread.”
Winch reiterates that “almost all of the flu activity so far this fall is caused by the H1N1 flu virus.” The seasonal flu is expected to make an appearance later in the season.
The Columbia County Department of Health advises that with the flu spreading quickly and not enough vaccination to go around, one preventative measure is to stay at home if you are sick. H1N1 is a flu virus quite different from the regular yearly flu, and this is why the bulk of the population doesn’t have antibodies already built up against it.
Priority groups to receive the H1N1 vaccine are pregnant women, children and younger people ages 6 months through 24 years, people who live with or provide care for infants under 6 months and people ages 25 to 64 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for flu-related complications — like asthma.
Health care workers and emergency medical services personnel are also considered a priority group. This August, the New York state Health Department adopted a regulation requiring all health care workers across the state to be vaccinated for H1N1. The mandate has since been lifted.
The shot was supposed to be administered a while back but due to a longer production time health care workers are still being vaccinated. According to Dr. Ananthakrishnan Ramani, an infectious disease specialist at Columbia Memorial Hospital, a doctor on staff at Columbia Memorial went home “because she had the flu.” Her vaccine had already been administered — but only five days before she went home sick. It takes two weeks for the vaccine to become effective.
Not all health care workers were comfortable about the vaccine. Four nurses in Albany began the process of suing state Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines to prevent the mandatory vaccination. Their reasons included a belief that the vaccination may be dangerous. Public opinion and fears regarding the H1N1 vaccination are considerably upped when credible persons — like nurses — express concern.
Ramani is well aware of the distrust, and fields questions in the hallways and calls from concerned residents all the time. He says he’s been vaccinated and his daughter is going to be vaccinated at her school. Winch says medical reactions to the vaccination are being watched very carefully, and that a task force has been set up to oversee the vaccine’s effectiveness. “The vaccine is made in the same plants the same way the other seasonal flu is made. So far they’ve not seen any true adverse reactions,” she said.
There are various theories and potential reasons to worry floating around, causing some people to distrust the H1N1 vaccine and choose not to get vaccinated. One fear is that there hasn’t been enough time to effectively test the vaccination, and another is the concern about the health problems caused the last time a mass vaccination campaign was conducted for swine flu in 1976.
According to Ramani, the vaccine is safe. “Safer than the disease. I can tell you that,” he said.
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