The Upper Missouri District Health Unit is postponing all future walk-in vaccination clinics for the regular seasonal flu, said public information officer Daphne Clark. A press release issued late Wednesday by the health unit states the problem is "due to circumstances beyond our control because our distributor is focusing on H1N1 vaccine and our vaccine has not arrived yet."
"We've only received a portion of our order," Clark said of the seasonal flu vaccine.
The delay became known Wednesday as health unit officials followed up on when additional vaccine is to be shipped.
"They just can't get it to us until the end of October or sometime in November, which would be about our normal time to do those," Clark said. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had encouraged health providers to give earlier-than-normal vaccination for the regular seasonal flu due to the H1N1 virus.
"It just wasn't working," Clark said of the desire to provide earlier vaccinations for the seasonal flu.
The health unit is still expecting to receive about 1,000 doses of the seasonal flu vaccine, she added. The unit held its first vaccination clinic of the fall last week.
"We had over 300 people at that first clinic. So we did get some out there and we did vaccinate some children too on some other days," Clark said.
Clark didn't know how much seasonal flu vaccine remained at Williston health providers. Williston's Trinity Community Clinic-Western Dakota nurse supervisor Charlene Strand is expecting to receive more seasonal flu vaccine late Thursday or Friday from Minot's Trinity Medical Center after running out Wednesday.
Strand said the clinic already has used 700 doses, but it also hasn't received its full shipment of the seasonal flu vaccine from its supplier.
"I don't know how many they can spare," Strand said of what she is expecting from Minot. "I'm hoping that someone can bring them up today."
Strand said patients can call the clinic to find out if the shipment has arrived and if they can get vaccinated.
Williston's Fairlight Medical Center does have seasonal flu vaccine, said business coordinator Chris Traeger.
"We still have quite a bit available. We actually have started our big push," Traeger said. "At any time, people can come in and get their flu shot."
Traeger said Fairlight also has the specialty seasonal flu shot for young children.
Fairlight is conducting a special walk-in clinic each Thursday during October where anyone can get the seasonal flu shot for $25.
Traeger said Fairlight has its entire seasonal flu vaccine order, which it increased this year.
"We anticipated we were going to do another 10 percent to 15 percent more than we did last year," she said.
Mercy Medical Center marketing and communications manager Leslie Sullivan said it looks like the facility is in good shape to address seasonal flu vaccine needs.
"We have a sufficient supply on hand to handle our normal seasonal flu vaccination," Sullivan said.
Sullivan did not know if the facility has received its entire seasonal flu vaccine order and did not know if it ordered the same amount of vaccine as previous years or ordered more this year.
Clark said the health unit's supplier is still manufacturing the seasonal flu vaccine and it is still expecting the vaccine to be shipped.
"It is just going to be the normal time when it comes," she said.
North Dakota Department of Health state epidemiologist Kirby Kruger said it has been hearing from the CDC that seasonal flu vaccine supplies are seeing delays, but orders should be able to be filled.
"It is early for the seasonal influenza vaccine," Kruger said.
He attributes the supply issue to the early demand exceeding what was originally anticipated. Kruger has heard nothing from the national level about vaccine manufacturers shifting an emphasis from seasonal flu vaccine to H1N1 vaccine production.
Clark said there also are no reports of extraordinary issues associated with people who have received the seasonal flu vaccine.
"When you get the vaccination, sometimes you get a sore arm, sometimes you get a low-grade temp," Clark said. "A lot of people think the vaccine is what makes them ill. What happens is they were exposed to something before they got the vaccine."
Meanwhile, Clark said health unit officials knew the region would see cases of the H1N1 virus.
"Really, things haven't changed. People need to stay home when they are sick. They need to wash their hands. They need to cover their mouth," she said.
Kruger said the important thing for people to remember about the H1N1 virus is the basic message that health officials have been sharing all along.
"If people become ill with an influenza-like illness, it is important that they stay at home and not go to school and not go to work," he said.
Everyone else who is health simply needs to practice good respiratory etiquette, Kruger said.
"For individuals who have underlying health conditions, they should monitor their health and if they become ill with a fever, they should contact their physician right away," he said.
Individuals with no underlying health conditions may use their best judgment as to when they should seek health care, Kruger added. He said the majority of individuals who have contracted the H1N1 virus are able to recover very well simply by staying home.
"If we're sick and we have a fever, we need to stay home," Clark said.
Comments
HSR0601 wrote on Oct 1, 2009 9:53 PM:
2. Folks need to stay vigilant on refraining form the in-take of pork, just in case of the mutation.
(( Genes included in the new swine flu have been circulating undetected in pigs for at least a decade, according to researchers who have sequenced the genomes of more than 50 samples of the virus. The findings suggest that in the future, pig populations will need to be monitored more closely for emerging influenza viruses, reported a team led by Rebecca Garten of the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in a report released by the journal Science.))
3. I personally recognize that wheat is a far better diet than meat on the ground it usually goes out of body with ease and rapidity, and we are well aware that our heath depends upon smooth metabolism and blood stream associated with the immune system and how important our daily workout is, as well.
I still think the critical conditions mostly come from breach of our immune system, and the food that stays long in the body is more likely to become a source where germs, bacterias and the like multiply.
Sounds outlandish, but wheat might be a principal "clean and healthy" food that has led western society to the most decent culture of all.
3. Additionally, a simple action like brushing teeth following each and every meal could make a big difference in our immune system, let alone workout, I believe.
4. Provided the average temperature is getting higher, accordingly all forms of germs, viruses, and influenza etc are more likely to multiply.
Some skeptics say the warning against hazards of climate change is overstated, but judging from more frequent and widespread outbreaks of e. coli, salmonella, and bird, swine flu cases endangering human lives and economic recovery seriously, some prompt measures need to be taken, I guess.
Thank You ! "