Weekly Flu Report: October 8, 2009

Weekly Report: Download Weekly Report_10_08_2009 (PDF)

 

By the end of this week (October 9^th), all Massachusetts hospitals and community health centers, many pediatric care providers, and some obstetric care providers will have received small quantities of H1N1 vaccine. However, these quantities represent only 3% of the total amount of H1N1 vaccine we expect to receive this flu season. More vaccine is expected from the federal government each week to build on those quantities and expand that distribution.

 

People who are in a high-priority group to get vaccinated should contact their health care provider to find out when they can schedule an appointment to get the H1N1 vaccine. Public health and school-based H1N1 vaccination clinics are expected in November and December, and will be posted at http://flu.masspro.org as they are scheduled. In the meantime, you can find a public flu clinic offering seasonal flu vaccine by visiting http://flu.masspro.org.

 

Finally, at the Statewide Flu Summit on September 30th, due to time constraints, not all questions submitted in writing were answered. We’ve attempted to address these remaining questions and have posted them on our website. There are still some questions that we’re in the process of answering, and we’ll update that document with those as they’re available.

Comments

[Joe Houde]

Quite frankly, if ALL providers have received some quantity of the vaccine, they are not telling anyone about it. My wife is a health care employee (pediatric dental so in kids mouths all day) and pregnant. We have not been able to find a single piece of information from a provider or clinic, all of them saying they do not know when they will receive it and denying that they already have. The stories do not match.

I personally believe they do not want to be overloaded with calls and therefore deny any knowledge. Needless to say this does not help the situation. It upsets me to think that my wife and baby could die because someone doesn't want to be burdened with phone calls.

I think it is fair to require some disclosure of who has the vaccine so highly vulnerable patients can get the care they deserve. I request this information be posted quickly so we can all stop wasting our time calling around.

[Linda McCabe]

Will there be any FREE H1N1 clinics seems, all seasonal clinics(so far) charge a fee. -------------------------------------
DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your question. Public flu clinics which are run by local public health organizations are, by and large, free. These clinics will be scheduled as soon as large amounts of H1N1 vaccine are available, so you should check on the Masspro website (http://flu.masspro.org) to see when they’re scheduled for your area. Vaccine obtained through private practices and chain pharmacies, in contrast, will likely involve a co-pay or other service charge.

[Molly Montgomery]

Could you please publish the list of the centers who have vaccine? Raw numbers in a spreadsheet does not help me find a place to get my child the vaccine. My preschooler and my wife both have asthma and we are very concerned about this flu.
My child's pediatrician's office said they don't know if or when they'll get any vaccine. To have me (and other parents) calling every single day doesn't seem like an efficient use of anyone's time. If the delivery dates are known--as implied in your spreadsheet--can't you also say where?
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DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions and we appreciate your concerns. All vaccine supplies are shipped directly from the manufacturer to the community-level provider (physician’s offices, hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies, local public health departments, etc.) While DPH is aware of the total number of doses of vaccine that will be distributed overall to locations within Massachusetts each week, we do not have detailed information on whether or when a specific provider location will receive shipments of vaccine.

Because of this, we can only continue to encourage people to visit http://flu.masspro.org, to find out if there are any public flu clinics planned for your area, including vaccination clinics at chain pharmacies such as CVS, Walgreen’s or Rite Aid and/or keep in close contact with your health care provider to stay updated on when they expect to receive vaccine supplies from the manufacturer, and to schedule an office visit to get vaccinated when they do.

[Sarah]

As a pregnant woman, I am considered a high risk patient, and I would like to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Do you have any information when the injectable form of the vaccine will be available and where I can go to get it? In many of your posts answering similar questions you have referred to the mass.gov/flu website for information about how much H1N1 vaccine has arrived in Massachusetts. However, this website does not provide any information about how the vaccine will be distributed and specifically which doctors, hospitals and community health centers will receive the vaccine. I have spent hours on the phone with my primary care doctor, my OB and many community health centers. No one I've contacted currently has the H1N1 shot, and none of these offices could provide me with any information about when they would receive it. Could you please comment on when the injectable H1N1 vaccine will be available to high risk individuals as well as how and to whom DPH is planning on distributing the H1N1 shot. Thank you. ------------------------------------------------------------------

DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions. Based on what we have been told by the federal government, we can expect shipments of the H1N1 flu shot (which is approved for pregnant women) in the next several weeks. All vaccine supplies are shipped directly from the manufacturer to the community-level provider (physician’s offices, hospitals, community health centers, pharmacies, local public health departments, etc.) While DPH is aware of the total number of doses of vaccine that will be distributed overall to locations within Massachusetts each week, we do not have detailed information on whether or when a specific provider location will receive shipments of vaccine. We encourage you to stay in contact with your health care provider and your local city or town health department to monitor vaccine availability.

[Jennifer]

Hi,
I am also a pregnant woman in my 3rd trimester with 4 children under the age of 5 years. I have talked to my OB practice and my primary care physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital. Neither provider has any knowledge of when vaccine will be available for my target group. The spreadsheet that is available on mass.gov/flu states that 122,900 doses of vaccine were shipped on 10/9/09 with pregnant women listed as a target group. Is this accurate? If so, where can a pregnant woman in her 3rd trimester obtain a vaccine?
Thank you.
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DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions. Last week all Massachusetts hospitals and community health centers, many pediatric care providers, and some obstetric care providers received small quantities of the H1N1 vaccine. However, these quantities represent a very small percentage of the total amount of H1N1 vaccine we expect to receive this flu season. More vaccine is expected from the federal government each week to build on those quantities and expand that distribution. Therefore, please continue to check in with your regular health care providers to see when they will receive the vaccine. If they have not signed up to receive it at all, you can call your local board of public health or local community health center to find out if they are planning to have a public clinic.

[Dan]

Your blog is totally incorrect! My wife is a pregnant health care worker with a 2.5 year old son. As of today (October 13) all three hospitals at which she is affiliated, MGH, BWH and NWH have told her that they do NOT have the vaccine nor do they have any idea when to expect any. With this information, I am scratching my head as to how you can claim that all hospitals in the state have vaccine. What a terrible reflection on public health in our state. --------------------- DPH RESPONDS: All hospitals in the state have doses of the H1N1 vaccine; however, they may not have them in the formulation that is approved for pregnant women. Based on what we have been told by the federal government, we can expect shipments of the H1N1 flu shot (which is approved for pregnant women) in the next several weeks.

[Xenu]

Hi---I have Multiple Sclerosis. I already received the regular seasonal vaccine about 1 week ago and am eager to get the H1N1 vaccine as well. My neurologist advised against the nasal mist but said I should get the vaccination (i.e. - injection) for H1N1. Unfortunately I can't seem to find anyplace that is offering injections for H1N1 yet.

Can you please let me know if the vaccine is available and, if so, how I might be able to get it. I really don't want to wait...it's just too risky with my pre-existing condition and with the immuno-suppressive medications I am on.

Thank you.
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DPH RESPONDS: Thank you for your questions. We suggest that you contact your regular health care provider to make an appointment for when the vaccine becomes available. You may also look for a public flu clinic near you at http://flu.masspro.org or by contacting your local community health center.