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http://www.nola.com/health/index.ssf/2009/10/swine_flu_vaccine_administered.html
Swine flu vaccine administered to fewer than 4,000 in Louisiana so far
By The Associated Press
October 19, 2009, 4:42PM
Fewer than 4,000 Louisiana patients have been vaccinated against swine flu, though more than 79,000 doses of the vaccine have been shipped to health care providers across the state, State Health Officer Jimmy Guidry said Monday.
Jacques Brinon/The Associated PressLouisiana expects to continue getting vaccine shipments every five to 10 days for the next three months. This Sanofi-Pasteur plant manufacturing H1N1 vaccine in France was photographed Monday. "They're getting it faster here than we can get it to patients," he said.
Guidry said the delay is largely because of timing.
The first shipments have been sent directly to doctors' offices and private providers who then call the patients currently eligible to receive vaccines, mainly children. Appointments must be made and kept for the vaccine to be administered, he said.
Billing and administrative concerns also have arisen in a few instances, Guidry acknowledged.
"Any time we hear of snags, we call providers. We don't want vaccine sitting out there," Guidry said.
Shipments of the vaccine began arriving in Louisiana two weeks ago. The state directed the first batches go to pediatricians, who were giving the nasal spray vaccine to healthy children ages 2 to 5.
More vaccine ? both nasal spray and flu shots ? has arrived since then, and Guidry said the state has started to steer injectable vaccine doses also to hospitals and obstetrician's offices for pregnant women and health care workers, who also are considered at-risk.
Guidry said 3,945 people in the state had been vaccinated by Monday.
He advised those considered "at-risk" get vaccines, but didn't provide a number for that population.
Guidry said he expects the numbers of vaccinated Louisiana residents to pick up sharply in the coming weeks.
Like other states, Louisiana expects to continue getting vaccine shipments every five to 10 days for the next three months, so that anyone who wants a vaccine should be able to get one by January.
As more doses of the vaccine arrive, the circle of eligible recipients will widen to include those with chronic health care disorders or immune system problems.
Vaccines to be distributed at schools likely will be available by mid-November, Guidry said. But vaccines aren't expected to be administered to the general public ? those who aren't in those high risk groups ? until December.
Louisiana's death toll from the H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu, has risen to 24, with four new deaths confirmed Monday by the state health department.
Two men from the five-parish region on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain have died from swine flu within the past week, along with a woman from the 12-parish northeast Louisiana region and a woman from the seven-parish area around Lafayette.
Details about when and where the swine flu vaccine is available will be posted at www.FightTheFluLA.com. Maps will show locations of pharmacies, parish health units, school-based clinics and other sites offering the vaccine as it is available.
Melinda Deslatte of The Associated Press wrote this report
Swine flu vaccine administered to fewer than 4,000 in Louisiana so far
By The Associated Press
October 19, 2009, 4:42PM
Fewer than 4,000 Louisiana patients have been vaccinated against swine flu, though more than 79,000 doses of the vaccine have been shipped to health care providers across the state, State Health Officer Jimmy Guidry said Monday.
Jacques Brinon/The Associated PressLouisiana expects to continue getting vaccine shipments every five to 10 days for the next three months. This Sanofi-Pasteur plant manufacturing H1N1 vaccine in France was photographed Monday. "They're getting it faster here than we can get it to patients," he said.
Guidry said the delay is largely because of timing.
The first shipments have been sent directly to doctors' offices and private providers who then call the patients currently eligible to receive vaccines, mainly children. Appointments must be made and kept for the vaccine to be administered, he said.
Billing and administrative concerns also have arisen in a few instances, Guidry acknowledged.
"Any time we hear of snags, we call providers. We don't want vaccine sitting out there," Guidry said.
Shipments of the vaccine began arriving in Louisiana two weeks ago. The state directed the first batches go to pediatricians, who were giving the nasal spray vaccine to healthy children ages 2 to 5.
More vaccine ? both nasal spray and flu shots ? has arrived since then, and Guidry said the state has started to steer injectable vaccine doses also to hospitals and obstetrician's offices for pregnant women and health care workers, who also are considered at-risk.
Guidry said 3,945 people in the state had been vaccinated by Monday.
He advised those considered "at-risk" get vaccines, but didn't provide a number for that population.
Guidry said he expects the numbers of vaccinated Louisiana residents to pick up sharply in the coming weeks.
Like other states, Louisiana expects to continue getting vaccine shipments every five to 10 days for the next three months, so that anyone who wants a vaccine should be able to get one by January.
As more doses of the vaccine arrive, the circle of eligible recipients will widen to include those with chronic health care disorders or immune system problems.
Vaccines to be distributed at schools likely will be available by mid-November, Guidry said. But vaccines aren't expected to be administered to the general public ? those who aren't in those high risk groups ? until December.
Louisiana's death toll from the H1N1 virus, commonly called swine flu, has risen to 24, with four new deaths confirmed Monday by the state health department.
Two men from the five-parish region on the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain have died from swine flu within the past week, along with a woman from the 12-parish northeast Louisiana region and a woman from the seven-parish area around Lafayette.
Details about when and where the swine flu vaccine is available will be posted at www.FightTheFluLA.com. Maps will show locations of pharmacies, parish health units, school-based clinics and other sites offering the vaccine as it is available.
Melinda Deslatte of The Associated Press wrote this report