When Wood County Health Department gets the long awaited H1N1 flu vaccines, those first doses will go to
local health care workers.
As early as next week, the county is expecting to get approximately 400 doses, according to Pat Snyder,
public information officer for the health department.
"It may cover all the health care workers who want to get it," Snyder said this morning.
Health department officials have chosen to disperse the vaccine when it arrives, rather than stockpiling
it till all the doses are distributed to the county.
"We want to get it out there as soon as we get it, to get people protected," Snyder said.
Local officials realize the initial vaccination efforts may become hectic if there is less vaccine than
there are people lined up for it.
"We expect maybe a few bumpy weeks until we get enough to get everyone their vaccine," Snyder
said.
The first vaccines to arrive will be the live attenuated influenza vaccine, more commonly known as the
flu mist. The flu mist vaccine is generally for people ages 2 to 49 who do not have underlying health
conditions.
Both the Centers for Disease Control and Ohio Department of Health have recommended that these first
doses go to health care workers to protect them and keep medical systems operating during the flu
season.
The Wood County Health Department will be working with the hospital, private health care providers and
EMS squads to ensure that every health care worker who is eligible and wants to receive the flu mist
version of the vaccine receives it.
There is some concern in the medical community, however, that since the flu mist contains a live virus
that it puts patients at risk from health care workers who get the vaccine. Health care workers who are
around bone marrow recipients are advised to not get the flu mist.
"There are no other formal restrictions," Snyder said.
But as a precaution, some medical facilities are requiring a two- to three-day waiting period before
health care workers who get the flu mist can again be around patients. For that reason, some facilities
in the county are advising their workers to not get the flu mist, Snyder said.
After health care workers, it is expected that the H1N1 flu mist will be available to parents of children
under 6 months plus children and young adults ages 2 through 24.
"Those are the guys being most attacked by the virus," Snyder said.
The inactivated vaccine, or H1N1 shot, is expected to be available mid to late October. The first doses
of the shots will be directed toward those groups of people most at risk for serious complications.
These include pregnant women, young children, health care workers with direct patient contact and
children and young adults with chronic medical conditions that make them more at risk for complications.
The health department will work on an "honor system" and trust people getting the shots to be
truthful about their risks.
Afterward, the vaccine will be open to the rest of the population. Eventually, the shot and the flu mist
will be available to anyone who wants it. For children 6 months to 9 years, there will be two doses 4
weeks apart. For people 10 and older, one dose will be enough to provide protection from the H1N1 virus.
Some private physicians in the county will also get the H1N1 vaccines for their patients. To get the
vaccine, their offices must meet certain storage and handling criteria, plus pass an inspection. The
H1N1 vaccines will be given for free by the health department, and are expected to be $5 or $6 from
private physicians.
