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County sets two H1N1 vaccine clinics next week
Story Published on Thursday, October 29, 2009
By Teresa Hicks
Press Medical/Health Writerhttp://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/print.php?ID=72000
The H1N1 influenza vaccine is now available to the public in Northeast Tennessee, although supplies are still limited.
Shipments of H1N1 vaccine have been trickling in to local health departments over the last several weeks. Health department officials anticipate that eventually everyone who wants the H1N1 vaccine will be able to get it, but the distribution schedule has been set back due to delays in vaccine delivery.
?We knew that on the front end, the number of doses would be small,? said Beth Rader, spokeswoman for the Northeast Tennessee Regional Health Department. ?We expected the number of doses that we received each week to increase, but we have not seen that happen.?
Local health departments are receiving small shipments of vaccine every week or two and making the vaccine available to the public as soon as it comes in.
The Washington County Health Department will offer free H1N1 vaccine on Monday and Nov. 5 from 5-8 p.m. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 975-2200.
At Monday?s clinic, both FluMist and injectable H1N1 vaccine will be offered. On Nov. 5, only FluMist will be available. FluMist is not recommended for pregnant women, children younger than 2, adults older than 49 or people with chronic disease. These individuals will not be able to receive a vaccine at the Nov. 5 clinic and are encouraged to schedule an appointment for an H1N1 shot at Monday?s clinic.
Rader said the health department will continue to receive shipments of both injectable and FluMist vaccine in the coming weeks. Individuals who are unable to get an appointment next week are encouraged to check with the health department weekly for additional supplies.
Cases of influenza-like illness are rising in Northeast Tennessee. The number of flu cases reported to the health department during the week of Oct. 11 through 17 was 1,346. Between Oct. 18 and 24, another 1,816 cases were reported.
Emergency room visits for influenza are increasing across the region as well. For the week ending Oct. 9, Mountain States Health Alliance emergency departments treated 1,151 patients with influenza-like illness. The next week, another 1,751 were treated. During the most recent week ending Oct. 23, MSHA emergency departments saw 1,951 flu patients.
These figures are roughly twice what ER doctors typically see at the peak of a normal flu season, according to MSHA spokesman James Watson.
Local school systems, meanwhile, are seeing minor dips in attendance, but no dramatic absentee figures. On Tuesday, Johnson City schools had 94.5 percent attendance, which is only slightly below the 95 percent that is typical for a normal school day, according to Mickey Jackson, the school system?s supervisor of attendance and testing.
Individual schools have seen some ebb and flow with illness, but no prolonged problems.
?It may be two schools on one side of the city one week, and they tend to bounce back, and it may be two other schools somewhere else,? Jackson said.
Carter County?s attendance figures were slightly lower this week, with 91 percent in attendance on Monday.
In Elizabethton city schools, just less than 93 percent of students were present on Tuesday. The average for this school year up to Oct. 27 is just more than 93 percent, which is somewhat lower than last year?s average for the same period, which was around 95 percent.
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?ID=72000
Story Published on Thursday, October 29, 2009
By Teresa Hicks
Press Medical/Health Writerhttp://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/print.php?ID=72000
The H1N1 influenza vaccine is now available to the public in Northeast Tennessee, although supplies are still limited.
Shipments of H1N1 vaccine have been trickling in to local health departments over the last several weeks. Health department officials anticipate that eventually everyone who wants the H1N1 vaccine will be able to get it, but the distribution schedule has been set back due to delays in vaccine delivery.
?We knew that on the front end, the number of doses would be small,? said Beth Rader, spokeswoman for the Northeast Tennessee Regional Health Department. ?We expected the number of doses that we received each week to increase, but we have not seen that happen.?
Local health departments are receiving small shipments of vaccine every week or two and making the vaccine available to the public as soon as it comes in.
The Washington County Health Department will offer free H1N1 vaccine on Monday and Nov. 5 from 5-8 p.m. Appointments are required and can be made by calling 975-2200.
At Monday?s clinic, both FluMist and injectable H1N1 vaccine will be offered. On Nov. 5, only FluMist will be available. FluMist is not recommended for pregnant women, children younger than 2, adults older than 49 or people with chronic disease. These individuals will not be able to receive a vaccine at the Nov. 5 clinic and are encouraged to schedule an appointment for an H1N1 shot at Monday?s clinic.
Rader said the health department will continue to receive shipments of both injectable and FluMist vaccine in the coming weeks. Individuals who are unable to get an appointment next week are encouraged to check with the health department weekly for additional supplies.
Cases of influenza-like illness are rising in Northeast Tennessee. The number of flu cases reported to the health department during the week of Oct. 11 through 17 was 1,346. Between Oct. 18 and 24, another 1,816 cases were reported.
Emergency room visits for influenza are increasing across the region as well. For the week ending Oct. 9, Mountain States Health Alliance emergency departments treated 1,151 patients with influenza-like illness. The next week, another 1,751 were treated. During the most recent week ending Oct. 23, MSHA emergency departments saw 1,951 flu patients.
These figures are roughly twice what ER doctors typically see at the peak of a normal flu season, according to MSHA spokesman James Watson.
Local school systems, meanwhile, are seeing minor dips in attendance, but no dramatic absentee figures. On Tuesday, Johnson City schools had 94.5 percent attendance, which is only slightly below the 95 percent that is typical for a normal school day, according to Mickey Jackson, the school system?s supervisor of attendance and testing.
Individual schools have seen some ebb and flow with illness, but no prolonged problems.
?It may be two schools on one side of the city one week, and they tend to bounce back, and it may be two other schools somewhere else,? Jackson said.
Carter County?s attendance figures were slightly lower this week, with 91 percent in attendance on Monday.
In Elizabethton city schools, just less than 93 percent of students were present on Tuesday. The average for this school year up to Oct. 27 is just more than 93 percent, which is somewhat lower than last year?s average for the same period, which was around 95 percent.
http://www.johnsoncitypress.com/News/article.php?ID=72000