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Source: http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/apArticle/id/D9CJCB981/
Published Monday, December 14, 2009
ap news
Health Department opens swine flu shots to all
By CHRIS WILLIAMS Associated Press Writer , The Associated Press - MINNEAPOLIS
Everyone in Minnesota will be eligible for the swine flu vaccine under new guidelines announced Monday by the Minnesota Health Department.
After restricting the vaccine to certain priority groups, the department now says public and private clinics can offer it to anyone if they have enough for priority patients.
Health Commissioner Dr. Sagne Magnan said the decision to expand vaccinations for swine flu, also called H1N1, rests with the health care providers.
"We are now advising them to take that step if they have an adequate supply of vaccine, once they have made sure that people at high risk for complications of H1N1 have had a chance to be vaccinated," she said.
Previously, the vaccine was limited to certain groups, including young children, pregnant women, people with certain chronic health care conditions and health care workers. However, there have recently been reports of falling demand at flu shot clinics around the state.
The Health Department reported that 1.4 million doses of the vaccine have been allocated to Minnesota, and more is on the way.
Health officials continued to recommend that Minnesotans get vaccinated, even though the pandemic appears to be waning in the state. There have been few outbreaks in schools in recent weeks and the number of weekly hospitalizations has dropped.
"We are still seeing some influenza activity from the H1N1 virus, and we could see a third major wave of illness sometime later in the winter," said Kris Ehresmann, director of the MDH Infectious Disease Division, in a news release. "It's still important to get vaccinated if you can."
The department's announcement appears to validate the decision, announced last week, by the St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health Department to open up vacations at its mass clinic this Saturday in Roseville.
Director Rob Fulton said his department made the decision because it expected the Health Department's move. He said he also thought it was also good policy.
"It seemed to make sense to get that vaccine in people's arms instead of our refrigerators," he said.
Fulton said he hopes that now that whole families can get vaccinated at once, more people will attend flu shot clinics. "The fewer trips they have to make to get stuff, the better off we will be," he said.
Also Monday, the Anoka County Community Health Department and the City of Minneapolis Health Department beat the state's announcement by saying they would offer open vaccine clinics.
The swine flu has sickened about 50 million Americans, and killed about 10,000, according to the latest estimates from federal health officials. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that means about 1 in 6 Americans have had the illness.
There have been 44 confirmed swine flu deaths in Minnesota, the state reported last week.
Published Monday, December 14, 2009
ap news
Health Department opens swine flu shots to all
By CHRIS WILLIAMS Associated Press Writer , The Associated Press - MINNEAPOLIS
Everyone in Minnesota will be eligible for the swine flu vaccine under new guidelines announced Monday by the Minnesota Health Department.
After restricting the vaccine to certain priority groups, the department now says public and private clinics can offer it to anyone if they have enough for priority patients.
Health Commissioner Dr. Sagne Magnan said the decision to expand vaccinations for swine flu, also called H1N1, rests with the health care providers.
"We are now advising them to take that step if they have an adequate supply of vaccine, once they have made sure that people at high risk for complications of H1N1 have had a chance to be vaccinated," she said.
Previously, the vaccine was limited to certain groups, including young children, pregnant women, people with certain chronic health care conditions and health care workers. However, there have recently been reports of falling demand at flu shot clinics around the state.
The Health Department reported that 1.4 million doses of the vaccine have been allocated to Minnesota, and more is on the way.
Health officials continued to recommend that Minnesotans get vaccinated, even though the pandemic appears to be waning in the state. There have been few outbreaks in schools in recent weeks and the number of weekly hospitalizations has dropped.
"We are still seeing some influenza activity from the H1N1 virus, and we could see a third major wave of illness sometime later in the winter," said Kris Ehresmann, director of the MDH Infectious Disease Division, in a news release. "It's still important to get vaccinated if you can."
The department's announcement appears to validate the decision, announced last week, by the St. Paul-Ramsey County Public Health Department to open up vacations at its mass clinic this Saturday in Roseville.
Director Rob Fulton said his department made the decision because it expected the Health Department's move. He said he also thought it was also good policy.
"It seemed to make sense to get that vaccine in people's arms instead of our refrigerators," he said.
Fulton said he hopes that now that whole families can get vaccinated at once, more people will attend flu shot clinics. "The fewer trips they have to make to get stuff, the better off we will be," he said.
Also Monday, the Anoka County Community Health Department and the City of Minneapolis Health Department beat the state's announcement by saying they would offer open vaccine clinics.
The swine flu has sickened about 50 million Americans, and killed about 10,000, according to the latest estimates from federal health officials. Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said that means about 1 in 6 Americans have had the illness.
There have been 44 confirmed swine flu deaths in Minnesota, the state reported last week.