Influenza Vaccine Update

November 24, 2009 by Kenneth Carlson, MD 

H1N1 vaccine continues to arrive in our clinic in small weekly batches. We continue to administer between 200-400 doses per week. We are about to cross 2000 doses administered. We are continuing to add names to wait list and give vaccine by appointment.

Beginning 11/20 Oregon health department is recommending temporary change in vaccine recommendations to prioritize the following groups:

  • All kids less than 5 years old
  • All kids 5 years and older with a diagnosis that puts them at increased risk for hospitalization from flu (including asthma, heart disease, diabetes)
  • All kids with an infant in the household who is less than 6 months old

Latest information continues to be at Oregon State Health Flu Information and CDC H1N1 page

We anticipate to return to vaccinating all children over age 5 in coming weeks. We are following state health recommendations.

We have still not received any additional doses of seasonal flu vaccine. We are now being told by vaccine manufacturers not to expect doses until January or February.

Flu activity in Oregon and most of the country continue to decline. We have definitely seen a decline in cases in our clinic with a sharp decline in number of hospitalized patients.

Filed under: Clinic News, Health Updates
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4 Responses to “Influenza Vaccine Update”

  1. Brian on November 25th, 2009 7:25 am

    Any chance you could occasionally post what number in the waiting list you are up to?

  2. Kenneth Carlson, MD on November 25th, 2009 1:37 pm

    We are working in the 700’s right now. There are many patients with lower numbers who we are temporarily skipping over due to new state recommendations to defer for health kids over age 5. Also the pace of the list is dependent on what type and brand of vaccine we receive each week as some forms are only for certain age groups. We continue to do between 200-400 shots per week and are currently calling families, scheduling for Saturday shot clinic. Those that were temporarily skipped over will be first called to schedule when recommendation changes to again target all kids under 24 years old. We think this may happen in next 2-3 weeks.

  3. Kelli on December 1st, 2009 7:53 am

    Are you calling children (who fit within the Oregon Health Dept) on the waiting list who have already had one dose and need a second?

  4. Kenneth Carlson, MD on December 1st, 2009 1:36 pm

    Yes. We did begin offering second dose to those children currently recommended to receive vaccine under Oregon Health Department recommendation. This includes all children under age 5, children over age 5 with health condition that increases risk for flu complications and those children with a household contact under 6 months. If you would like your child to be on wait list just send email to h1n1@childhoodhealth.com.

    We have received a larger order this week and expecting an additional order near the end of the week. We are hoping to accelerate getting the doses administered now. We also hope to soon offer vaccine to all kids under 24 years old as vaccine supply improves.

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