Posted 2:43 am Sunday, January 10, 2010
TISD To Offer Free H1N1 Clinics, Starting Monday
By COSHANDRA DILLARD and MEGAN MIDDLETON
Staff Writers
Staff Writers
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Although the current H1N1 flu appears to be less lethal than expected and the number of cases has declined, health officials are still urging citizens to be vaccinated ahead of the peak of the regular flu season.
Officials say February and March produce the most flu cases, and since they are unsure how or if the H1N1 virus will mutate, they still recommend getting the vaccine.
"The numbers show that it does seem to be waning at the moment and it has not been as severe as predicted, but we're still in the middle of flu season and so the situation can once again change and there could be another wave of H1N1," Dr. Jonathan MacClements, Smith County Health Authority, said.
Young people -- ages 6 months to 24 years -- are among the high-risk group and are urged to take advantage of the vaccine.
The Northeast Texas Public Health District has administered 7,000 H1N1 vaccines since the beginning of its vaccination campaign about two months ago, according to its records.
However, only 20 percent, or nearly 1,300, have been given to children ages 6 months to 18 years. For school-age children, only 14 percent, or 904, have received the vaccine.
"I'm not surprised by the numbers because a lot of parents were waiting for the school clinics," said Stephanie Taylor, NTPHD community outreach and assistance director. "It's convenient and they don't have to schedule an appointment or take their kids to another location."
Beginning Monday, NTPHD is working with Tyler ISD to offer free H1N1 vaccination clinics at various schools.
Although only about 10 percent of students returned consent forms by the Thursday deadline, Nancy Jones, health services coordinator for TISD, said Friday that number was growing as she expected.
"We are getting lots and lots of forms back in," she said, estimating the percent had at least doubled on Friday. "The nurses are telling me that they're getting lots of calls from parents saying, 'I didn't send my form in. Can I send it Monday? Can I still come?'"
TISD sent consent forms home Wednesday and asked they be returned Thursday. She said that was done to help with planning for staffing at the clinics, but they will continue to accept students' consent forms and allow them to get the vaccines even after the deadline.
"We've had a good response so far, but we're hoping even more will respond and come to the clinics," Ms. Jones said.
She said it's still not too late to get the H1N1 shot, although some may think that it is.
"I think some people are thinking it's too late in the season to get the H1N1, but it's really not," she said. "It's still being recommended by the health department."
The vaccinations offered at TISD are not mandatory.
"That's an individual choice for parents," Ms. Jones said. "If their choice is to have their child vaccinated, we will help to make that available for them."
Ms. Jones said students may get the vaccine at any of the schools offering it. They don't have to go to the clinic at their home school.
The clinics are being offered to help students, parents and staff members, she said.
"Always their health and safety is utmost in our mind," she said. "We know children, in order to learn, have to be healthy. If they're sick with the flu, they're not in school. And if they're not in school they can't be getting the education that they need. Our faculty, if they're not feeling well and not in attendance, that hinders the learning of our students."
Dr. MacClements said the more parents who show up at the clinics, the less severe it will be in the community. Each year, health officials hope to have at least 25 percent of the population immunized against the flu.
"The more people vaccinated, the fewer hosts that can get infected and spread the disease," he said. "It's a comfort to know that kids are being vaccinated."
Vaccine or no Vaccine?
Some parents differ on whether to allow their children take the H1N1 vaccine.
Ronna Best, a parent of a sixth-grader at TISD, thinks it's a great idea to offer the vaccine free to kids in school, but she's still got concerns about the vaccine.
"I'm still a little leery because of the mass production in a short amount of time," Ms. Best said. "I'm still on the fence with it. I think it was produced too fast."
Her daughter won't get the vaccine, because she said she feels she's been exposed several times to it and built up some sort of immunity.
Krystal Navarro has a third-grader and a fifth-grader who attend TISD -- and they will take advantage of the H1N1 vaccine being offered.
"It's great that it's going to be free and available," Ms. Navarro said. "It's a good precautionary move to make."
She's not concerned about the vaccine -- she's already had her H1N1 shot, she said.
That the shots are being offered at school is a big help to parents, Ms. Navarro said.
"We were already going to get them," she said. "When they brought home the form saying they were going to be free and at school, it just made it that much easier to get it done."
LINGERING QUESTIONS
Questions still remain about the way the vaccine was made and how much time it took to make it. According to the Centers for Disease Control, the H1N1 vaccine was produced within five months. It takes manufacturers about six months to mass produce a seasonal flu vaccine.
But as TISD officials wait to see how many parents will turn out at vaccination clinics this week, health officials are confident that many questions have been answered and concerns addressed.
Mrs. Taylor said that's because of informational meetings at local schools late in 2009 following the outbreak of the virus.
"We have seen that (confusion about the vaccine) go away a little bit," she said. "There were a lot more questions when the recall happened, but that has been addressed too."
In mid-December, hundreds of thousands of H1N1 flu shots for children 6 months to 3 years old were recalled because tests indicated the vaccine doses lost some strength. The CDC however, contended that those batches were safe and the recommended doses were potent enough to protect against the disease.
Dr. MacClements noted it is common for drugs and vaccines to be recalled and the voluntary recall last month was a testament to efforts of health officials to ensure safety. He believes CDC officials tightened already-stringent safety protocols since there has been public scrutiny surrounding the vaccine.
"The CDC is ensuring transparency regarding the safety issues of this vaccine and have been very astute in notifying the public and health profession of any safety concerns," he said.
"There were no corners cut as far as the safety."
For more information about H1N1 and safety concerns, visit www.cdc.gov/h1n1/vaccination/vaccine_safety_qa.htm.
