Editor's note: In an effort to provide accurate and timely information on H1N1 activity, area health departments have offered to provide a weekly update on flu activity, as well as information on vaccination clinics and precautions. This column will appear each Sunday.
Doctors' offices continue to report influenza like illnesses, with roughly 9 percent of office visits being flu related, when they would normally see only 1 percent with flu like illnesses at this time of year.
Schools continue to report flu-related absences, with no schools reporting a need to close due to a large outbreak among the staff. Lawrence Public Schools report that absentee rates seem to have fallen over the past two weeks.
H1N1 vaccine is reaching the area now, with an estimated 1.1 million doses already distributed statewide.
North Andover held its first school-based clinic on Nov. 23, distributing approximately 130 doses to the sixth-grade class, and is planning to expand to the seventh and eighth grades soon.
Also on Nov. 23, Andover held a public clinic limited to medical professionals, pregnant women plus one support person, and parents of infants under 6 months of age. Approximately 95 doses were distributed in an hour and a half. Andover is now working with its School Department to schedule in-school clinics at the middle and high school levels.
The Methuen and Lawrence health departments will hold their first H1N1 clinic this Friday, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Parthum School, 255 East Haverhill St., in Lawrence, on the corner of Marston and East Haverhill streets on the Methuen/Lawrence line. No one will be allowed on the premises before 3:30 p.m., because school is in session.
Target groups are pregnant women and their spouse or partner, and caregivers and household contacts of infants 6 months and under who are 4 years of age or older.
Registration forms and vaccine information sheets are available at www.cityofmethuen.net and www.cityoflawrence.com. To save time, download the forms, fill them out and bring them with you.
As the vaccine is distributed, residents should be aware that there are several different types of vaccine and protocols for delivery. Four different companies make injectable vaccine in various presentations that are appropriate for different age groups.
Your health nurse has proper information about which flu shot is right for you. A nasal spray can be given to healthy persons from 2 to 49 years of age. Regardless of formulation, children aged 2 to 9 years receive two doses, spaced at four weeks, while people over 9 years of age will receive only one dose. People with asthma should not receive the nasal spray vaccine.
Many people have asked if the H1N1 vaccine and seasonal flu vaccine can be administered during the same visit. Most people can receive them together. The exception is those who receive the nasal spray, in which case the vaccines should be separated by four weeks.
There is no reason to expect any adverse affects from the H1N1 vaccine. It is really just a change in the strain of the seasonal flu vaccine, which has a very good safety profile. Hundreds of millions have received this vaccine safely over the years. The most common side effects are mild, and include soreness, redness, tenderness or swelling where the shot was given. Any other side effects should be reported to your doctor for further investigation.
NEXT WEEK: How pandemics work.
