All I want for Xmas is my H1N1 vaccination
Just in time for the holidays, Santa finally arrived, this time in the form of more doses of the H1N1 vaccine. Mono County Health Department said it now thinks it has sufficient H1N1 vaccine to accomodate anyone who wants to be vaccinated. “Up until now, we have focused on the highest risk groups, including pregnant females and children,” said Mono County’s Public Health Officer Dr. Richard Johnson. “An increased supply now allows us to offer vaccine (at no charge) to all persons.”
Safety first
The vaccine’s overall effectiveness is still being assessed, but now that many millions of H1N1 vaccine doses have been given, Johnson said data accumulated thus far indicates that the vaccine is at least as safe as the seasonal influenza vaccine, which Johnson said has “an excellent track record” dating back many years.
“The likelihood of having a problem similar to a previous swine flu vaccine in 1976 is now … remote,” he said.
Internet fraud
Incredible as it seems, scammers have found a way to prey on peoples’ H1N1 fears by using a bogus CDC 2009 H1N1 Influenza Vaccination Registry. “There is no such registry,” Johnson said. “The CDC does NOT require any registration on the Internet to receive a vaccine. Any e-mail suggesting it does is a fake that is ‘phishing’ for personal information that can be illegally exploited.” (For more information on such hoaxes, visit www.cdc.gov/hoaxes_rumors.html.)
H1N1 emergency declaration
Johnson advised Mono County Supervisors on Tuesday that since the situation regarding immunization against the H1N1 (“Swine Flu”) virus is well in hand, he saw no reason to continue the County’s recently-enacted health emergency declaration.
According to County Counsel Marshall Rudolph, the only issue was how to handle the declaration’s expiration. The Board decided to enact a resolution proclaiming a termination of the emergency declaration, saying conditions giving rise to the declaration will no longer exist as of Dec. 18. As of that date, control of the situation will revert to the various local agencies.
Mono County Public Health Director Lynda Salcido reported that the County’s already given out 2,000 H1N1 vaccinations and has another 1,000 doses on hand. Salcido said the County plans on opening access to the vaccine to other groups as early as this week, moving beyond first responders and school students and personnel.
So far Johnson reported that, while roughly a dozen deaths have been recorded statewide, Mono County has experienced no deaths from the virus and is noticing something of decline in cases. Johnson, however, cautioned that even though the national peak of illness has apparently passed, holiday parties and other gatherings, as well as colder weather keeping people inside with warmer, drier environments could foster a third wave of H1N1 across the country.
Mutations that are resistant to Tamiflu have been found in a half-dozen other countries, especially affecting cancer survivors and those with compromised immune systems, a condition that didn’t really exist during the 1918 Spanish Flu outbreak. The good news is that there hasn’t been any observed change in H1N1’s contagion or transmission factors.
A final word of caution
Although H1N1 activity appears to be decreasing, Johnson said Health Department and medical professionals expect to see an increase in other “bugs” that normally appear during this time of year, including seasonal influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV), which resembles a moderate to severe cold and is very contagious.
Johnson’s advice: get vaccinated as soon as possible. If you can’t do that right away, at least wash your hands frequently, and stay away from sick people. He also recommends keeping your throat moist with lots of fluids, allowing plenty of time for rest, and repeated his mantra of staying home if you are sick (and until you’re fever-free for more than 24 hours), and keeping sick children out of daycare or school.
“If you’re not feeling very well, think twice about going to that holiday party or family gathering. Don’t bring additional stress to the holidays by getting sick or infecting others,” Johnson advised.
Call MCHD at 760.924.1830 to for the latest in Mono County vaccination info for your area and look for the ad in this week’s print edition of The Sheet.
