Posted on: Friday, November 20, 2009
State officials: Only 26% of distributed doses accounted for
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i public health officials yesterday once again urged physicians, clinics and pharmacies to report their distribution of H1N1 flu vaccine to allow the Department of Health to track their use ? and their need ? in the Islands.
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"They really need to get that documentation back to us," said Dr. Sarah Park, state epidemiologist for the Department of Health. "We're not getting the documentation to show us exactly where the vaccine is needed."
The documentation received so far by the Department of Health accounts for only 26 percent of the 99,000 nasal and injectable doses that have been distributed around the state, Park said.
Hawai'i has been allocated 217,800 doses from the nation's supply of flu vaccine and health officials need to know where to distribute the rest of their allocation, Park said.
"Without documentation to know where to send the doses, it will become very difficult," Park said.
So far, Park said, 4,548 students have been vaccinated in 18 school clinics.
A severely ill 5-year-old boy from American Samoa died this week from complications related to swine flu in a Hawai'i hospital that specializes in treating children, Park said.
The boy had been ill for about a month and was treated in an intensive care unit, Park said.
Because the boy is from American Samoa, his death is not counted as a Hawai'i swine flu fatality.
But, Park said, "It's a reminder why we're targeting the kids, the young folks."
Also yesterday, Dr. Tai Chen, Honolulu Quarantine Station medical officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged travelers to follow a flu-prevention campaign unveiled yesterday by the CDC.
The program, entitled "Prevention Can be Travel-sized," urges travelers to:
? Travel only when feeling well and when they have not had fever symptoms within the previous 24 hours.
? Get flu vaccinations.
? Wash hands frequently.
? Cover coughs and sneezes.
More information is available at http://cdc.gov/travel.
? ? ?
http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/20091120/NEWS15/911200359
State officials: Only 26% of distributed doses accounted for
Advertiser Staff
Hawai'i public health officials yesterday once again urged physicians, clinics and pharmacies to report their distribution of H1N1 flu vaccine to allow the Department of Health to track their use ? and their need ? in the Islands.
Advertisement
"They really need to get that documentation back to us," said Dr. Sarah Park, state epidemiologist for the Department of Health. "We're not getting the documentation to show us exactly where the vaccine is needed."
The documentation received so far by the Department of Health accounts for only 26 percent of the 99,000 nasal and injectable doses that have been distributed around the state, Park said.
Hawai'i has been allocated 217,800 doses from the nation's supply of flu vaccine and health officials need to know where to distribute the rest of their allocation, Park said.
"Without documentation to know where to send the doses, it will become very difficult," Park said.
So far, Park said, 4,548 students have been vaccinated in 18 school clinics.
A severely ill 5-year-old boy from American Samoa died this week from complications related to swine flu in a Hawai'i hospital that specializes in treating children, Park said.
The boy had been ill for about a month and was treated in an intensive care unit, Park said.
Because the boy is from American Samoa, his death is not counted as a Hawai'i swine flu fatality.
But, Park said, "It's a reminder why we're targeting the kids, the young folks."
Also yesterday, Dr. Tai Chen, Honolulu Quarantine Station medical officer for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, urged travelers to follow a flu-prevention campaign unveiled yesterday by the CDC.
The program, entitled "Prevention Can be Travel-sized," urges travelers to:
? Travel only when feeling well and when they have not had fever symptoms within the previous 24 hours.
? Get flu vaccinations.
? Wash hands frequently.
? Cover coughs and sneezes.
More information is available at http://cdc.gov/travel.
? ? ?
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