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State health officials announced Friday that a Knox County woman died of complications from the H1N1 influenza virus.
Hers is the first H1N1-related death reported in the Tri-County.
The woman?s death as well as the death of a Kentucky State Reformatory inmate from the virus were announced by officials from the Kentucky Department for Public Health during a telephone briefing for the media.
The woman, who was in her 80s, died in September at Baptist Regional Medical Center, state and local health officials said.
The inmate, a man in his 40s, had been isolated from the prison?s general population, health officials said.
Both the woman and the man had chronic health conditions, health officials said.
The two deaths have increased the state?s H1N1 death toll to 10, health officials said. Of those 10 dead, seven were among the groups Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee has identified as priority groups for immunization.
Rita Miracle, disaster preparedness coordinator for the Knox County Health Department, said the woman?s death shows that older people can be vulnerable to the virus, particularly if they have underlying health conditions.
?This is a case in point that it can happen in older people,? Miracle said.
State officials said Kentucky has received over 138,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, far short of what is needed to vaccinate everyone who wants protection from the virus. Similar shortages are also occurring in other states, state officials said.
State and local health officials expect sufficient quantities of the H1N1 vaccine will arrive in November. Once those shipments arrive, health departments in the Tri-County plan to have mass vaccination clinics.
State officials said Kentucky continues to have widespread flu activity. Most people who contract the virus recover without treatment, health officials said.
Knox County Health Department has limited supplies of the H1N1 nasal and injectable vaccines. They will be administered for free to the general public 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays. People are urged to call the clinic at 546-3486 to make sure the clinic has sufficient quantities of the vaccine.
General information about the H1N1 influenza can be obtained 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily by calling 1-877-843-7727. The state offers information about the H1N1 and seasonal flu at healthalerts.ky.gov or follow KYHealthAlerts on Twitter.
http://www.thetimestribune.com/local/local_story_298171430.html
Hers is the first H1N1-related death reported in the Tri-County.
The woman?s death as well as the death of a Kentucky State Reformatory inmate from the virus were announced by officials from the Kentucky Department for Public Health during a telephone briefing for the media.
The woman, who was in her 80s, died in September at Baptist Regional Medical Center, state and local health officials said.
The inmate, a man in his 40s, had been isolated from the prison?s general population, health officials said.
Both the woman and the man had chronic health conditions, health officials said.
The two deaths have increased the state?s H1N1 death toll to 10, health officials said. Of those 10 dead, seven were among the groups Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee has identified as priority groups for immunization.
Rita Miracle, disaster preparedness coordinator for the Knox County Health Department, said the woman?s death shows that older people can be vulnerable to the virus, particularly if they have underlying health conditions.
?This is a case in point that it can happen in older people,? Miracle said.
State officials said Kentucky has received over 138,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, far short of what is needed to vaccinate everyone who wants protection from the virus. Similar shortages are also occurring in other states, state officials said.
State and local health officials expect sufficient quantities of the H1N1 vaccine will arrive in November. Once those shipments arrive, health departments in the Tri-County plan to have mass vaccination clinics.
State officials said Kentucky continues to have widespread flu activity. Most people who contract the virus recover without treatment, health officials said.
Knox County Health Department has limited supplies of the H1N1 nasal and injectable vaccines. They will be administered for free to the general public 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Fridays. People are urged to call the clinic at 546-3486 to make sure the clinic has sufficient quantities of the vaccine.
General information about the H1N1 influenza can be obtained 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily by calling 1-877-843-7727. The state offers information about the H1N1 and seasonal flu at healthalerts.ky.gov or follow KYHealthAlerts on Twitter.
http://www.thetimestribune.com/local/local_story_298171430.html