For more information about receiving an H1N1 vaccine, contact the Stanley C. Myers Center, 710 Alton Road, Miami Beach by calling 305-538-8835; the Miami-Dade County Health Department, 1350 NW 14th Street, Miami, by calling 305-324-2400 or visiting Dadehealth.org; Walgreens Pharmacies by calling 800-925-4733 or visiting Walgreens.com; or CVS Pharmacy, 306 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach by calling 305-531-5583 or visiting cvs.com. Staff photo

An Ounce of Prevention
National Influenza Vaccination Week Kicks Off, Officials Recommend Vaccinations for H1N1 Virus

By Lee Molloy

A pin on the pharmacy assistant’s lapel at the Walgreens on the corner of 15th Avenue and 163rd Street in North Miami Beach reads “Get your H1N1 shot today.”

On a Tuesday, getting an H1N1 flu vaccine at this particular Walgreens involves paying the $18 administration fee, filling in a standard form and waiting roughly two minutes.

“Do you have an arm preference?” asks Heliah, the Pharmacist on staff.

Heliah takes a seat next to the arm offered and, within 30 seconds, has painlessly administered the shot.

“We recommend staying in the store for 15 minutes to make sure there are no problems,” she said.
 
The few minutes provide some time to ruminate on the fact that the holidays are over, along with perhaps a little over-indulgence and partying, which may have led not only to an expanded waistline, but also to some depletion of the body’s natural defenses against disease.

National Influenza Vaccination Week, which begins Jan. 10, may be arriving just in time to remind people that the H1N1 virus (or swine flu) has not gone away. Unusually for a flu virus, H1N1 puts 25 year-olds, and those younger, at greater risk than the middle-aged.

Dr. Anne Schuchat, the Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases discussed the results of a survey carried out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention regarding the H1N1 virus during the first week of December at a CDC press conference on Dec. 22.

“We know from our survey that about half of Americans want to be vaccinated,” she told the media. However “only about a third of them have been vaccinated. … The goal will be to really get that vaccine out in the path of people.”

The survey also revealed that around 46 million Americans had been vaccinated. Of those, 40 percent were children. Which is “really good news,” she said. “Usually with seasonal flu there is a lot more vaccination of adults, including seniors, than children — Children are harder hit with the [H1N1] virus.”

According to statistics released by the CDC, between Aug. 30 and Dec. 26 there were 225 reports of child deaths from flu-related illness in the United States. Eighty-one percent of those deaths were linked to the H1N1 virus.

Pamela Mann, a fellow at the Epidemiology, Disease Control and Immunization Services division of the Miami-Dade County Health Department, provides a more local perspective.

“We’ve had 465 hospitalized cases [of H1N1] as of Jan. 4th, and 35 deaths,” she told The Lead. Only six of those deaths were from the over-65 demographic. “We’re seeing more of the younger population affected by H1N1 as opposed to seasonal flu,” Mann said.

Schuchat explained the hospitalizations.

Those hospitalized by H1N1 often have an underlying health concern that places them at greater risk. “Asthma and chronic lung disease are very common,” Schuchat said, adding that they have “also seen diabetes and chronic heart disease” in patients.

Schuchat had a special message for parents of young children. “If you have children who are under 10 years of age,” she says, “it is important to know that your child needs a second dose” of the vaccine. Schutchat went on to explain that the second dose should be administered approximately one month after the first. According to the survey, more than 2 million children have received their second dose so far.

Mann also told The Lead that the Miami-Dade County Health Department has administered more than 44 thousand vaccines, and further spoke to the skepticism many people have regarding the safety of the vaccine.

“We’ve had really good responses,” Mann said. “We haven’t had any severe adverse reactions. It’s completely safe for children and pregnant women.”

According to the CDC, the H1N1 vaccine is showing a safety profile similar to that of the regular flu shot, which has been administered hundreds of millions of times. The most common side effects are soreness from the injection, nausea and headaches, all of which are usually gone within two days. Those with a severe chicken egg allergy, however, should not be vaccinated.

Mann thinks that even those not in a high risk group should get the vaccination, especially as they “have plenty” of vaccines to go around.

Vaccinations are being administered free by the Miami-Dade County Health Department, and for an administration charge of $18 by various Wallgreens pharmacies. They’re also available for $20 at CVS Pharmacies.

“We are encouraging everyone to get it, because it’s the best way to prevent the flu,” Mann said.

For more information about receiving an H1N1 vaccine, contact the Stanley C. Myers Center, 710 Alton Road, Miami Beach by calling 305-538-8835; the Miami-Dade County Health Department, 1350 NW 14th Street, Miami, by calling 305-324-2400 or visiting Dadehealth.org; Walgreens Pharmacies by calling 800-925-4733 or visiting Walgreens.com; or CVS Pharmacy, 306 Lincoln Road, Miami Beach by calling 305-531-5583 or visiting cvs.com.

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