Sep 3, 09 | Posted by: Kristin Bencik Boudreau, D.O.

Another update on H1N1

The White House released a statement this week on worst case scenario predictions for H1N1 or swine flu. They estimated that 40-50% of the population would be infected, with an estimate of 30 to 90,000 deaths from that. The CDC retracted those numbers, stating they felt the estimates were too high; however, the above reports have caused a flood of questions to come into our office about when to vaccinate and what can be done about the H1N1 virus. At this time, earliest estimates of when the H1N1 vaccine will be available are mid-October. Unlike any other vaccine we carry in the office, the H1N1 vaccine is completely government controlled. The government has bought all the vaccine, and once the clinical trials are complete, will disperse it to the states. The state health departments will in turn disperse it to private offices and hospitals. That means we cannot order it, we have no control over how much we get or if we will be able to order more. We anticipate that H1N1 vaccine will be given to high risk populations first: these include pregnant women, all children ages 6 months to 18 years, any chronic disease patients such as asthmatics and diabetics, health care workers, and most likely teachers. As pediatricians, we fall into the high risk category and anticipate that our clinic shall be among the first to receive the vaccine. We recommend that you continue to follow the blog for updates on when we will have the vaccine.

The second part of most patients questions are what can we do beside the vaccine to prevent H1N1. This goes back to the basics- wash your hands often or use hand sanitizer, cough into your elbow, and stay home if you are sick. If your child has a fever, do not give them Tylenol and send them to school. If your child is old enough, consider sending him or her with hand sanitizer to use before eating lunch and after recess and gym.

The third prevention you can do this fall is vaccinate against seasonal influenza A. We currently are giving the FluMist or nasal vaccine to all kids 2 and up with no egg or asthma history, or the regular flu shot for all others. Although it will not protect you from H1N1, it will protect against a flu that annually kills 36,000 people. In addition, we are not sure what is going to happen when H1N1 meets regular Influenza A- and the more protection the better.

The government predictions definitely caught all of our attention, but we  need to keep perspective. So far, this flu has actually been milder than other influenza A’s. Most of the kids who got it were sick for a few days and recovered quickly. I feel strongly that we should take the above precautions to help avoid catching the flu- but realize that the majority of the people who catch H1N1 will do well.

Please read Dr. Linsmeier’s blog about more of the specifics of the H1N1 vaccine. As always, continue to follow our blog as we try and keep you as updated as possible.

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