Re: Like several other provinces, B.C. to delay seasonal flu shots for under 65s
Flu shots schedule gets complicated
Posted By Jenn Watt
Posted 3 hours ago
Vaccination against the seasonal flu will come a little later this year than usual for everyone under 65 because of the Ontario government?s plan to deal with the H1N1, also known as swine flu, virus.
Risk assessment based on demographics and scientific research has caused the province to stagger vaccinations against the two types of influenza into three distinct stages over the course of the fall.
?Plans for ? timing of seasonal versus H1N1 flu vaccine have been evolving over the past few weeks. [Thursday] the province announced for the seasonal flu vaccine that it only be provided to people who are 65 years of age and older and residents of long-term care facilities at this time,? said medical officer of health for the health unit, Dr. Lynn Noseworthy.
Once the seasonal flu vaccine is distributed to those 65 and older, vaccination for H1N1 will begin for the general population. After that, the seasonal flu vaccine will again be offered, this time for anyone who wants it.
The sequencing is a delicate balance between three major factors.
First, research from Canadian scientists recently suggested that those who have previously received the seasonal flu vaccine are at greater risk for contracting H1N1. This research has yet to be peer reviewed by other scientists, but to be on the safe side the province wants to hold off on introducing the seasonal vaccine again this year until those findings have been substantiated.
Second, the two viruses seem to affect different demographic populations differently. While the seasonal flu is more dangerous for the senior population, H1N1 strikes young people at a much higher rate.
?We know that people who are 65 years and older and people who live in long-term care homes are more susceptible of picking up the seasonal strain of flu and are more susceptible of having complications from it,? Noseworthy said.
?The epidemiology, or the study of how the virus has behaved, over the past few months has indicated that people who were born prior to 1957 seem to not pick up the H1N1 flu virus as often as those who were born since that point in time,? she said.
Scientists? best guess is that those born before 1957 were exposed to a similar strain of flu to H1N1 and therefore have greater resistance to the virus.
Third, the province doesn?t have evidence on whether both vaccines are safe to take at the same time.
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?While it would seem logical to do both vaccines at the same time, there?s no scientific data that would suggest this would be a safe or effective thing to do at this point in time. We don?t have the data yet. That?s why we?re doing the timing the way we are,? she said.
The first batch of vaccine ? for the seasonal flu ? will be distributed by the health unit to the hospitals, long-term care homes and family doctors within the next few weeks. There will also be public health clinics for this vaccine in our area for those 65 and older, though the times and dates have yet to be set.
Following that, H1N1 vaccines will arrive and be available to anyone who wants them.
Finally, more seasonal flu vaccine will arrive for the general population.
Distribution of vaccine will follow the usual pathways to the public through physicians and nurses, at the hospital and through public health clinics.
The health unit is watching with interest the H1N1 contraction rate on the West Coast. On Friday, hundreds of students stayed home from school in Vancouver either with flu-like symptoms or to avoid being infected by fellow classmates. H1N1 has been confirmed in three British Columbia schools.
This is not a good sign, as the seasonal flu usually hits the population much later in the year, around November or early December.
While it is important to protect yourself from both the seasonal and H1N1 flu, effects on populations around the world just coming out of their winters ? such as Australia ? indicates H1N1 has a mild effect and is more contagious than dangerous.
Symptoms of H1N1 are the same as those for the seasonal flu: ?fever, cough, sore throat, body aches, headache, chills and fatigue? according to the Ontario ministry of health. A healthy body will usually fight off the flu in the course of a week or two.
As usual, the best way to protect yourself from the flu is to regularly and thoroughly wash your hands, use alcohol-based hand sanitizer when you?re not able to wash your hands, sneeze into your sleeve or a tissue and clean off communal areas and surfaces.
For information on vaccinations call your doctor or the local health unit. You can find more information on H1N1 at 457-1391.
http://www.haliburtonecho.on.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1772745
