January 10th through the 16th is National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW), a CDC initiative for all healthcare providers to encourage ongoing influenza vaccination past the holiday season. As a kickoff for NIVW, the Brownwood/Brown County Health Department will be hosting its first H1N1 flu clinic for the general public from Tuesday, January 12th to Thursday, January 14th. The H1N1 flu clinic will be open continuously from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm at the Depot.
Now that larger weekly shipments of the H1N1 vaccine are arriving, the Brownwood/Brown County Health Department will begin hosting several other H1N1 flu clinics throughout the coming months. There is no way to predict if or when the next wave of the H1N1 virus will occur, so even though there has been a slight decrease in flu activity in the past few weeks, it is still strongly recommended that people continue to get vaccinated against this new strain of flu.
Pregnant women, young people from birth up to 24 years of age, and adults with underlying medical conditions are still considered priority groups at high-risk for developing serious complications from H1N1 flu. The Health Department has been targeting these groups since the arrival of the first shipments of H1N1 vaccine in October, but now that larger shipments of the H1N1 vaccine have started arriving, the Health Department is now able to offer vaccine to the general public as well.
Since late October, the Health Department has been coordinating an extensive influenza vaccination campaign to reach children at their schools and daycares. By providing the vaccine free at a convenient location for both parents and child, the Health Department hopes to increase vaccination coverage among this priority group. The Health Department will also be returning to the schools and daycares for second doses, which are recommended for children under 10 years of age, and to vaccinate the faculty and staff.
There has been some concern of late over the safety of the H1N1 vaccine due to the recent product recalls issued by two of the vaccine’s major manufacturers, Sanofi Pasteur and MedImmune. These recalls were not for safety reasons; rather, it was determined that the potency of the vaccine from a few specific lots had decreased below the recommended limit. This meant that the shelf-life of the affected lots was not as long as originally thought, and thus the companies were allowing providers who had received the now short-dated vaccine to send it back.
Most of the affected vaccine lots had been shipped and administered long before the decrease in potency occurred, but for quality assurance purposes, both Sanofi Pasteur and MedImmune issued voluntary recalls on the remaining vaccine from those lots.
Vaccination is still the best way to avoid the flu. Washing hands, covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or sleeve (not hands), staying home when sick, and keeping your distance (at least 3 feet) from people exhibiting flu-like symptoms are also good ways to remain healthy and avoid spreading the flu to others.
If you have any questions regarding the new H1N1 influenza strain, or the H1N1 vaccine, visit www.texasflu.org/. For more information, or to find out when and where the next H1N1 flu clinic will be, call the Health Department at 325-646-0554.
If you live outside of
