Weekly Flu Report: September 24, 2009

Weekly Report: Download Weekly Report_9_24_09 (Download PDF Weekly Report_9_24_09)

This week, we received more good news about the new H1N1 vaccine that's currently being tested. It now appears that children aged 10 to 17 years of age may only require one dose of the H1N1 vaccine, as opposed to the originally expected two doses.  The final recommendations for this age group will be released in the coming weeks.

In addition, the CDC has released an H1N1 preparation guide for Community and Faith Based Organizations.People often turn to these groups for information and support, which gives these organizations the unique ability to connect with a wide variety of people and provide them with the information and resources they need. The guide contains information on how to communicate effectively with community members; how to help vulnerable and hard-to-reach populations; ideas on how to partner with local governments to assist in vaccine distribution, and how to adjust activities in ways that will help protect people from the flu.

Comments

[Catherine]

Hi I am 21 weeks pregnant and I am not finding ANY locations in Massachusetts offering Thimerasol Free H1N1 shots. I have contacted both the CDC and Mass Public Health directly. I did not receive the assistance I was in need of. My next course of action will be to contact the State House in Boston and then the media. I am quite disturbed that there is a thimerasol free h1n1 shot available, however it is not being made available to the public. Although this vaccine is a necessity, I am beginning to believe the government is involved in constructing a controlled study by only offering the vaccine specifically to both prisoners and pregnant woman. Please provide me with the information I need to find a Thimerasol Free location where I can get vaccinated. Thank You

[Richard Wright]

Has the Mass.State Legis. approved additional sick leave for state workers to use as a way to encourage them not to come to work sick or stay home longer to be sure that they have fully recovered for the ful? -------------------------------
DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your question. No, there has been no legislation passed by the legislature or signed by the governor to require additional sick leave.

[mrethiopian]

How many have died from taking the H1N1 vaccine?

What have the worst symptoms been from taking H1N1 vaccine?

Was the H1N1 vaccine tested on children during phase 1- 3 studies, if so how many?

Did the FDA FastTrack the H1N1 vaccine?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions. The H1N1 vaccine is expected to have similar safety profiles as seasonal flu vaccines, which have very good safety track records. Over the years, hundreds of millions of Americans have received seasonal flu vaccines. The most common side effects following flu vaccinations are mild, such as soreness, redness, tenderness or swelling where the shot was given. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will be closely monitoring for any signs that the vaccine is causing unexpected adverse events and we will work with state and local health officials to investigate any unusual events. All additional information that is available to us on vaccine safety can be found on the CDCs website at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/vaccine_safety.htm

[Sandra Pipczynski]

My daughter is 7 months pregnant and will not get a H1N1 vaccine with preservatives. Where can she get the thimerosal-free influenza vaccine?
-----------------------------------------
DPH RESPONDS: Thanks for your question. The CDC recommends that pregnant women receive only the "inactivated" vaccine, also known as the flu shot. Based on what we have been told by the federal government, we are expecting to receive shipments of the flu shot in the next several weeks. We suggest that you contact your regular health care provider to make an appointment to be vaccinated once it is available. You can find more information on the CDC's website at http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/pregnant_qa.htm.

[PHope]

My healthy 11 yr old son tested positive last spring for Influenza A. His Dr. said he probably had swine but that they were not testing for it. He had all of the symptoms of swine and was given Tamiflu to shorten the time frame of the illness. I have 2 questions: 1) Is he apt to get swine again this season even if it is the same virus as last spring? 2) Should he be immunized even though he did most likely already contract swine? Thanks --------------------------- DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions. As you probably know, unless your son had a laboratory test that confirmed he had H1N1 (swine) flu, it’s possible that he had something other than H1N1. Even if he had H1N1 (swine) flu, we don’t know how much immunity it will provide which is why both the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) and the CDC are recommending H1N1 vaccine for everyone this fall.

[RichC]

I just saw the Boston Globe article that said widespread distribution won't start until mid/late November and that high-risk groups (like kids aged 6mo-4yrs) will have to get the shot from their physicians. What do we do if the kid's physician can't get the vaccine? Where can we take our kids? ----------------------------------------------------------
DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions. You can find a list of public flu clinics in your area at: http://flu.masspro.org. At this time, vaccine for seasonal flu is beginning to be available in the state. H1N1 vaccine is not yet available, but you can use this same web resource to find a provider/clinic near you once that vaccine is here. Another option are school-based vaccination clinics. The decision on whether and how to hold one is made at the local level so please contact your local board of health or public health department to ascertain if your city or town is contemplating the use of school facilities to provide flu vaccinations.

[laura]

I am currently 7 months pregnant and was advised to recieve the H1n1 vaccine, is it safe? and what studies have been done to determine this? ----------- DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your question. Influenza vaccines have not been shown to cause harm to a pregnant woman or her baby. The seasonal flu shot (injection) is proven as safe and already recommended for pregnant women. The 2009 H1N1 vaccine will be made using the same processes and facilities that are used to make seasonal influenza vaccines. A number of clinical trials which test the H1N1 vaccine in healthy children and adults are underway. These studies are being conducted by the National Institutes of Allergies and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Studies of the H1N1 vaccine in pregnant women were expected to begin in September. You can find additional information specifically for pregnant women on the CDC's website at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu.

[pam germain]

I work in a health care setting and have been told if I do not get the H1N1 vaccine and do get the "swine flu" that my home will be quarantined and my family not allowed to stay with me while I have the flu. Is this true? ------------------ DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your question. The emergency regulations passed by the Public Health Council last month only require that health care workers are offered vaccination against H1N1 (swine) flu. Health care workers are under absolutely no requirement to receive the vaccine and there are absolutely no regulations which require quarantine for individuals who are sick with the flu.

[Billy]

My wife is Pregnant (6Mos) and was told she is at the top of the list to receive the Vaccine. The Vaccine contains Thimerasol which contains levels of Mercury. Is there any information on what this vaccine may or may not do to our unborn son??
--------------------------- DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your question. As you know, it is important for pregnant women to receive both the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine as well as a seasonal influenza vaccine. There is no evidence that thimerosal (used as a preservative in vaccine packaged in multi-dose vials) is harmful to a pregnant woman or a fetus. However, because some women are concerned about exposure to preservatives during pregnancy, manufacturers will produce preservative-free seasonal and 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccines in single dose syringes for pregnant women and small children. The CDC recommends that pregnant women may receive influenza vaccine with or without thimerosal. You can find additional information specifically for pregnant women on the cdc website at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu.

[Patrick Holman]

When was mercury, squalene, sorbitol, animal viruses, aborted fetal tissue, aluminum, benzene, formaldehyde EVER an immune strengthener or preventative treatment?

The pharmaceutical companies that make vaccinations still use thimerosal as a preservative, so please don't say it's not used any longer.

And you didn't answer Jens question.

Thank you for your fair and balanced moderating. :)

[CommonSense]

When was mercury, squalene, sorbitol, animal viruses, aborted fetal tissue, aluminum, benzene, formadelyhde EVER an immune strengthener or preventative treatment?

total lies... don't listen to any advertisements in the form of news. Big Pharma is making money. Wake up, all you wonderful people! Don't be fooled by the lies. The only H1N1 virus is the ones in the vaccination that they manufactured. Think about it. It's the LIVE VIRUS. You will DEFINITELY have the H1N1 if you get the shot. And guess what? You may die like 25 people did in 1976 when they were trying to sell it. The problem was with the advertising. And don't forget, you can't sue the pharmaceutical companies if you have an adverse reaction. 150 girls died from the janky Gardasil vaccination. There were 8,000+ adverse reactions. If a car that was defective killed 150 people, don't you think they would recall every single car? And then the car company would be sued? Not big pharma. I call shananagans!

[kelly]

I read an article today online from the boston medical community and it said that MA has had 20,000 cases of H1N1. Your report however(as of last thurs) says there is 1406. It is true to say that the article was false and just another scare tactic? -------------------- DPH Responds: Thank you for your question. Individual case counts were used in the early stages of the outbreak to track the spread of disease. As H1N1 (swine) flu became more widespread, individual case counts became an increasingly inaccurate representation of the true burden of disease. This is because many people likely became mildly ill with novel H1N1 flu and never sought treatment; many people may have sought and received treatment but were never officially tested or diagnosed; and as the outbreak intensified, in some cases, testing was limited to only hospitalized patients. That means that the official case count represented only a fraction of the true burden of novel H1N1 flu illness in the United States. CDC recognized early in the outbreak that once disease was widespread, it would be more valuable to transition to standard surveillance systems to monitor illness, hospitalizations and deaths. Therefore, there have only been 1,406 confirmed cases of H1N1 (swine) flu in Massachusetts, however, we estimate, based on the national surveillance system, that there were around 20,000 cases last flu season.

[RichC]

Thank you for the Masspro.org link. But that brings up a question -- can municipalities limit municipally-run clinics to residents-only, or do they have to be open to all MA residents? ------------------ DPH RESPONDS: Thanks for your question. A community can limit a clinic to residents, however, if they choose to do so, they generally would advertise their clinic for residents only in order to avoid confusion.

[Dan Mahoney]

My Dr. told me to go to the hospital to get checked to see if I have the swine flu. I exhibited many of the symptoms. No appetite for 2 days, high fever, chills, fatigue and a massive bout with gastrointestinal stomach. I lost 8 lbs. I went online and found that the 2009 H1N1 outbreak has the stomach virus as one of the main indicators. I haven't been sick like this in years. However after 2 days it's pretty much cleared up. I've never been sick like this in September. Occasionally in March but very rare and seeing as there is no outbreak of the flu in the U.S. I'm inclined to think I contracted it. Would I be far off? ---------- DPH RESPONDS: Thanks for your question. The only way to know for sure if you had H1N1 (swine) flu would be to have a laboratory test. Regardless, we recommend that everyone gets the vaccine once it is available.

[Any Links?]

Of those that have died from H1N1, how many individuals had been vaccinated (current year or previous) for other strains of flu, meningococcal, etc.?

How many of the individuals who have died from H1N1 have never been vaccinated for any strain of flu or meningococcal?
------------------------------------------
DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions. We don't have full information on immunization history. The information we do get is from the medical records related to the final hospitalization and not the patients primary care history. It would not be expected that past immunization would be protective against H1N1 (swine) flu, although pneumococcal (pneumonia) vaccine would be protective against a major complication.

[Russ Bouse]

I've heard a lot of rumors about whether the H1N1 vaccine will be mandatory. Can you shed some light on this please? Is there a law on the books that would make it mandatory, pending the Governers signature? Also, can you enlighten us on the number of people dying from the H1N1 flu as compared to the regular seasonal flu?
------------------------ DPH Responds: Thank you for your questions. Vaccination against seasonal and H1N1 flu is completely voluntary. Commissioner Auerbach further expanded on this false rumor in a letter to members of the general court and local and municipal elected officials which you can find on our website at: http://www.mass.gov/Eeohhs2/docs/dph/cdc/flu/swine_commissioner_memo_%20re_false_rumors_of_mandatory_vaccination.pdf.

In terms of H1N1 vs. seasonal deaths, nationwide data is no longer being tallied by these categories. For general comparison purposes, there were a total of 11 deaths from H1N1 (swine) flu during the spring outbreak in Massachusetts and, to contrast, each year seasonal flu causes approximately 36,000 deaths and 250,000 hospitalizations.

[Jen]

I was wondering if you could answer a question that has me puzzled. I know of someone that has had a confirmed case of H1N1 flu. She was told to get the vaccine when it is available. Why is that? If having the virus does not make her immune, how would a vaccination? The vaccination is just the inactive virus, correct? She said that her doctor said that she needed to be vaccinated in case it mutates. If it mutates, the vaccine would still not protect her because it would not contain the mutated virus, true? I find this confusing. When asked if you have had a vaccination for school, they ask for proof of the vaccine or proof of having the illness. I thought they were one in the same. Thank you. --------------
DPH RESPONDS: Thanks for your question. It’s important for people to get the H1N1 vaccine that will be available this fall, even if they may have already have contracted H1N1 (swine) flu during the spring outbreak. This is because the flu virus may have mutated between then and now. In other words, past illness is no guarantee of future immunity. Scientists are hopeful that the H1N1 (swine) flu vaccine that’s coming out later this month will be a good match against the H1N1 flu strain that’s currently circulating.

[b.]

Now that the H1N1 vaccine is approved, how do we find out where we can get one once it arrives in MA? Will there be a list of providers? Also, is MA planning to vaccinate in the public schools?
--------------------------------------- DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions. You can find a list of public flu clinics in your area at: http://flu.masspro.org. At this time, vaccine for seasonal flu is beginning to be available in the state. H1N1 vaccine is not yet available, but you can use this same web resource to find a provider/clinic near you once that vaccine is here. The decision on whether and how to hold school-based vaccination clinics is made at the local level. Please contact your local board of health or public health department to ascertain if your city or town is contemplating the use of school facilities to provide flu vaccinations.