Limited number of H1N1 vaccine now available for children

By Angie Thompson, Senior Reporter

TIFTON — A limited amount of the nasal spray version of the H1N1 (swine flu) vaccine is currently available for children 2 to 4 years of age at two local health departments and is expected to be at others by the end of the week. Doses of the injectible form of the vaccine are expected to arrive next week.

Certain groups are advised to wait on the injectible shot because the nasal spray version of the vaccine is live and can cause complications for certain people, including young children with certain pre-existing health conditions and pregnant women.

“Right now the state is focusing on the 2-to-4-year-old population as the high-risk group and we will start with them,” said Dr. Lynn Feldman, health director of the South Health District 8-1, which includes Ben Hill, Berrien, Brooks, Cook, Echols, Irwin, Lanier, Tift and Turner counties.

According to Feldman, the Tift County Health Department. has received 300 doses of the nasal spray and the Ben Hill County Health Department has received 100 nasal spray doses.

“This is nowhere near all the vaccine we will get,” Feldman said.

Feldman said that 20 percent of the district’s H1N1 vaccine order will be for the nasal spray.

“It’s safe and people don’t have bad reactions to it,” Feldman said. “For those who don’t like shots, it’s an excellent alternative and offers excellent immunity.”

Georgia is focusing the use of this small, initial supply on healthy children age 2 to 4 years old in order to reach a population that spreads the virus and is more at risk for hospitalization, according to the South Health District’s Web site at www.southhealthdistrict.com. Other information, including where the vaccine is available in communities, can be found on the Web site.

The nasal spray vaccine should not be given to:

• Children who are receiving treatments containing aspirin.

• Children with a sensitivity to eggs, egg proteins, gentamicin, gelatin or arginine or have had life-threatening reactions to previous influenza vaccinations.

• Children who are younger than 2 years old.

• Children with asthma or children less than 4 years old with recurrent wheezing.

• Children with health problems that predispose them to complications from flu.

• Children who have a muscle, nerve or seizure disorder that could lead to breathing or swallowing problems.

• Children who have a weakened immune system.

Health care providers at hospitals and clinics and emergency workers are also on the priority list to receive the swine flu vaccine. People over the age of 65 are not on the priority list to receive the vaccine, but it doesn’t mean they won’t have access to it eventually, Feldman said.

Feldman said the H1N1 vaccine will probably be given to students and faculty at schools as the availability of the vaccine increases.

According to a Tuesday article by the Associated Press, demand for the vaccine is outstripping supply, but Dr. Tom Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, didn’t say by how much. Swine flu is widespread across the county, although cases are on the upswing in some areas and seem to be receding in others, Frieden said.

According to CDC data, reports are falling a bit in five regions that comprise about half the country — the New York-New Jersey area; the Southeast; the Midwest; the central Plains; and the region that includes Hawaii, California, Nevada and Arizona.

Frieden said that the flu is unpredictable and could make a resurgence and noted that it is not too late for people in any region to be vaccinated.

“Even in places where flu has been widespread, it’s affected 5 percent to 10 percent of the population. That means 90 percent to 95 percent of the population is still susceptible,” he said.

The CDC doesn’t have an exact count of swine flu deaths and hospitalizations, but existing reports suggest the infection has caused more than 600 deaths and more than 9,000 hospitalizations since the virus was first identified in April.

The government keeps a more careful count of deaths of pregnant women and children attributed to swine flu. CDC officials say they are aware of 28 deaths of pregnant women and about 60 of children.

To contact senior reporter Angie Thompson, call 382-4321.

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