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Source: http://www.bellinghamherald.com/late...y/1122552.html
POSTED: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009
Swine flu claims fifth victim in Pierce County
MIKE ARCHBOLD - THE (TACOMA) NEWS TRIBUNE
Swine flu has claimed its fifth victim in Pierce County, a man in his 70s, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reported Tuesday.
Health Department spokeswoman Eileen Finnigan said the man died Oct. 17 from complications linked to H1N1 (swine) flu. He also experienced other underlying health conditions that complicated the course of the illness, she said.
Further details about the man and where he died were not available, she said.
?It is sad to learn of another person who has died from the flu,? said Dr. David Harrowe, lead communicable disease investigator at the Health Department, in a press release. ?His death, however, may prevent others if people will take actions to prevent the spread of flu virus - both seasonal flu and H1N1 - or to seek help if their conditions worsen.?
Since April, when swine flu first appeared in the United States, there have been 36 hospitalizations for H1N1 in Pierce County. Five people have died.
Both seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine have arrived in Pierce County, most to medical provider offices and pharmacies. Anyone over the age of 6 months can get a seasonal flu vaccine.
H1N1 vaccine is currently limited to priority groups, including pregnant women; household contacts and care givers for children younger than 6 months of age; health care and emergency medical services personnel who provide direct patient care; all people 6 months to 24 years of age; and people 25 to 64 years of age who have underlying health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from flu.
Once the priority groups have been given the opportunity to obtain flu vaccine, Health Department officials said the rest of the population will be encouraged to get protection.
As swine flu takes hold in Pierce County this season and the vaccine to combat it is slow to arrive in the county, questions and frustrations are many.
Where can I get the vaccine? Are there any public vaccine clinics planned? Who should get it? Why isn?t there more vaccine?
Here are answers to these and other flu-related questions:
Q. Is the swine flu vaccine clinic in Puyallup Saturday the only confirmed school clinic in Pierce County?
A. Yes. It is the first such clinic in Pierce County. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Emerald Ridge High School, 12405 184th St. East.
Q. Who is coordinating the clinic?
A. Tacoma Pierce County Public Health Department.
Q Will there be a charge for the vaccine?
A. No, it is free.
Q. What vaccine will be available at the Puyallup clinic?
A. Up to 3,000 doses of the new 2009 H1N1 vaccine. Most of it is in nasal form though some injectable shots will be available.
Q. Who should come to the Puyallup clinic?
A. The Tacoma Pierce County Health Department is targeting students and young people ages 2 to 24 years of age who live in the Puyallup School District. Parents must accompany those under 18 years of age.
Q. Will anyone be turned away from the Puyallup clinic because they don?t live in the Puyallup School District?
A. No but Health Department officials are suggesting parents wait until there is a clinic in their school district area so as not to overload the Puyallup clinic.
Q. Can pregnant women, children under 2 or those with asthma or diabetes get the swine flu vaccine at the Puyallup clinic?
A. Probably not. Those categories of people cannot be given the nasal mist because it has a live virus and it is hard for the very young to sniff the mist properly. The mist is for healthy individuals. They can get an injectable vaccine shot which has an inactive virus but supplies at the clinic will be very limited. Health officials encourage them to see their own medical provider when supplies improve.
Q. Are there any other Health Department school clinics planned?
A. Yes, but dates are still tentative:
Nov. 1: Bethel High School, 22212 38th Ave. East, Spanaway; Bethel and Franklin-Pierce school districts.
Nov. 7: Clover Park High School, 11023 Gravelly Lake Drive SW, Lakewood; Clover Park and Steilacoom school districts
Nov. 21: Mt. Tahoma High School, 4634 S. 74th St., Tacoma; Tacoma and University Place school districts.
Dec. 5: Fife High School, 5616 20th St. East, Tacoma; Sumner, Fife and Dieringer school districts.
Dec. 12: Wilson High School, 1202 North Orchard, Tacoma; Tacoma and University Place school districts.
Firm dates for clinics will depend on how much swine flu vaccine is received and when.
Q. If I can?t go to a school clinic, where else can I go.
A. The health department is planning two community swine flu clinics next month but no dates have been set. You can also contact your health provider or pharmacy to see if they have received any swine flu vaccine. Q. Are any other school districts planning free swine flu vaccine clinics?
A. Peninsula School District in conjunction with Franciscan Health Systems is planning two of them for students 2 to 24 years of age: Oct. 28 at Key Peninsula Middle School from 2:45- 5:45 p.m. and again Nov. 18 at Peninsula High School from 2:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. White River School District is working with Franciscan Health System and coordinating with the Pierce County Health Department to hold a swine flu vaccine clinic next month. The tentative date is Nov. 19 at Glacier Middle School but district officials said they will notify district residents when the date is firmed up.
Q. Do pharmacies, medical clinics, private medical providers and retail outlets like Safeway have the swine flu vaccine?
A. Not that we know of. The swine flu vaccine is now being distributed to those outlets but currently few have any. That should begin to change as supplies reach the county.
Q. How many doses of H1N1 vaccine has the Health Department received?
A. As of this week, the Health Department has received 14,000 doses, half of which are mist and half are injectable shots. The health department had hoped to have 120,000 by mid-October but manufacturing delays have pushed that back to mid-November. The county is forecvast to get 550,000 doses.
Q. Is the Pierce County Health Department coordinating delivery of all swine flu vaccine in the county?
A. No. Many medical clinics, providers and pharmacies have contracted for their own vaccine supply. Like public health departments, they have been stymied by the slow manufacturing process.
Q. Are any public H1N1 flu vaccine clinics planned in South King County?
A. Public Health ? Seattle & King County is offering free swine flu vaccine primarily to uninsured adults who are at increased risk because they have significant health problems beginning today. They will be available at the Federal Way Public Health Center,33431 13th Place S., Federal Way, the Alder Square Public Health Center, 1404 Central Ave S., Suites 101 & 112, in Kent and the White Center Public Health Center, 10821 8th Ave SW, Seattle. The clinics will be open to people up through 64 years of age who have significant health problems that put them at greater risk for serious complications for H1N1. Examples would include heart disease, lung disease, asthma, kidney disease, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
Q. Is H1N1 vaccine different from the seasonal flu vaccine?
A. Yes. Neither protects a person from the other flu. Health officials suggest people get both vaccines. Vaccine for the seasonal flu season which occurs later in the winter is more readily available. Most of the flu occurring now is considered swine flu. Children over six months through 9 years of age should get 2 doses of vaccine about a month apart, say health officials. Older children and adults need only one dose.
Q. How bad is the swine flu outbreak in Pierce County?
A. There is no way for the Health Department to know the number of cases in Pierce County. School districts report to the department the number of schools with more than a 10 percent absentee rate from illness. As of Tuesday, there were only six schools reported. Peninsula School District, however, reported five of them, with one school showing a 21 percent absentee rates as of Monday, according to a district official.
Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692
mike.archbold@thenewstribune.com
POSTED: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2009
Swine flu claims fifth victim in Pierce County
MIKE ARCHBOLD - THE (TACOMA) NEWS TRIBUNE
Swine flu has claimed its fifth victim in Pierce County, a man in his 70s, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department reported Tuesday.
Health Department spokeswoman Eileen Finnigan said the man died Oct. 17 from complications linked to H1N1 (swine) flu. He also experienced other underlying health conditions that complicated the course of the illness, she said.
Further details about the man and where he died were not available, she said.
?It is sad to learn of another person who has died from the flu,? said Dr. David Harrowe, lead communicable disease investigator at the Health Department, in a press release. ?His death, however, may prevent others if people will take actions to prevent the spread of flu virus - both seasonal flu and H1N1 - or to seek help if their conditions worsen.?
Since April, when swine flu first appeared in the United States, there have been 36 hospitalizations for H1N1 in Pierce County. Five people have died.
Both seasonal flu and H1N1 vaccine have arrived in Pierce County, most to medical provider offices and pharmacies. Anyone over the age of 6 months can get a seasonal flu vaccine.
H1N1 vaccine is currently limited to priority groups, including pregnant women; household contacts and care givers for children younger than 6 months of age; health care and emergency medical services personnel who provide direct patient care; all people 6 months to 24 years of age; and people 25 to 64 years of age who have underlying health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from flu.
Once the priority groups have been given the opportunity to obtain flu vaccine, Health Department officials said the rest of the population will be encouraged to get protection.
As swine flu takes hold in Pierce County this season and the vaccine to combat it is slow to arrive in the county, questions and frustrations are many.
Where can I get the vaccine? Are there any public vaccine clinics planned? Who should get it? Why isn?t there more vaccine?
Here are answers to these and other flu-related questions:
Q. Is the swine flu vaccine clinic in Puyallup Saturday the only confirmed school clinic in Pierce County?
A. Yes. It is the first such clinic in Pierce County. It will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Emerald Ridge High School, 12405 184th St. East.
Q. Who is coordinating the clinic?
A. Tacoma Pierce County Public Health Department.
Q Will there be a charge for the vaccine?
A. No, it is free.
Q. What vaccine will be available at the Puyallup clinic?
A. Up to 3,000 doses of the new 2009 H1N1 vaccine. Most of it is in nasal form though some injectable shots will be available.
Q. Who should come to the Puyallup clinic?
A. The Tacoma Pierce County Health Department is targeting students and young people ages 2 to 24 years of age who live in the Puyallup School District. Parents must accompany those under 18 years of age.
Q. Will anyone be turned away from the Puyallup clinic because they don?t live in the Puyallup School District?
A. No but Health Department officials are suggesting parents wait until there is a clinic in their school district area so as not to overload the Puyallup clinic.
Q. Can pregnant women, children under 2 or those with asthma or diabetes get the swine flu vaccine at the Puyallup clinic?
A. Probably not. Those categories of people cannot be given the nasal mist because it has a live virus and it is hard for the very young to sniff the mist properly. The mist is for healthy individuals. They can get an injectable vaccine shot which has an inactive virus but supplies at the clinic will be very limited. Health officials encourage them to see their own medical provider when supplies improve.
Q. Are there any other Health Department school clinics planned?
A. Yes, but dates are still tentative:
Nov. 1: Bethel High School, 22212 38th Ave. East, Spanaway; Bethel and Franklin-Pierce school districts.
Nov. 7: Clover Park High School, 11023 Gravelly Lake Drive SW, Lakewood; Clover Park and Steilacoom school districts
Nov. 21: Mt. Tahoma High School, 4634 S. 74th St., Tacoma; Tacoma and University Place school districts.
Dec. 5: Fife High School, 5616 20th St. East, Tacoma; Sumner, Fife and Dieringer school districts.
Dec. 12: Wilson High School, 1202 North Orchard, Tacoma; Tacoma and University Place school districts.
Firm dates for clinics will depend on how much swine flu vaccine is received and when.
Q. If I can?t go to a school clinic, where else can I go.
A. The health department is planning two community swine flu clinics next month but no dates have been set. You can also contact your health provider or pharmacy to see if they have received any swine flu vaccine. Q. Are any other school districts planning free swine flu vaccine clinics?
A. Peninsula School District in conjunction with Franciscan Health Systems is planning two of them for students 2 to 24 years of age: Oct. 28 at Key Peninsula Middle School from 2:45- 5:45 p.m. and again Nov. 18 at Peninsula High School from 2:15 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. White River School District is working with Franciscan Health System and coordinating with the Pierce County Health Department to hold a swine flu vaccine clinic next month. The tentative date is Nov. 19 at Glacier Middle School but district officials said they will notify district residents when the date is firmed up.
Q. Do pharmacies, medical clinics, private medical providers and retail outlets like Safeway have the swine flu vaccine?
A. Not that we know of. The swine flu vaccine is now being distributed to those outlets but currently few have any. That should begin to change as supplies reach the county.
Q. How many doses of H1N1 vaccine has the Health Department received?
A. As of this week, the Health Department has received 14,000 doses, half of which are mist and half are injectable shots. The health department had hoped to have 120,000 by mid-October but manufacturing delays have pushed that back to mid-November. The county is forecvast to get 550,000 doses.
Q. Is the Pierce County Health Department coordinating delivery of all swine flu vaccine in the county?
A. No. Many medical clinics, providers and pharmacies have contracted for their own vaccine supply. Like public health departments, they have been stymied by the slow manufacturing process.
Q. Are any public H1N1 flu vaccine clinics planned in South King County?
A. Public Health ? Seattle & King County is offering free swine flu vaccine primarily to uninsured adults who are at increased risk because they have significant health problems beginning today. They will be available at the Federal Way Public Health Center,33431 13th Place S., Federal Way, the Alder Square Public Health Center, 1404 Central Ave S., Suites 101 & 112, in Kent and the White Center Public Health Center, 10821 8th Ave SW, Seattle. The clinics will be open to people up through 64 years of age who have significant health problems that put them at greater risk for serious complications for H1N1. Examples would include heart disease, lung disease, asthma, kidney disease, diabetes and HIV/AIDS.
Q. Is H1N1 vaccine different from the seasonal flu vaccine?
A. Yes. Neither protects a person from the other flu. Health officials suggest people get both vaccines. Vaccine for the seasonal flu season which occurs later in the winter is more readily available. Most of the flu occurring now is considered swine flu. Children over six months through 9 years of age should get 2 doses of vaccine about a month apart, say health officials. Older children and adults need only one dose.
Q. How bad is the swine flu outbreak in Pierce County?
A. There is no way for the Health Department to know the number of cases in Pierce County. School districts report to the department the number of schools with more than a 10 percent absentee rate from illness. As of Tuesday, there were only six schools reported. Peninsula School District, however, reported five of them, with one school showing a 21 percent absentee rates as of Monday, according to a district official.
Mike Archbold: 253-597-8692
mike.archbold@thenewstribune.com