One or two doses for North Country flu shots

By Zachery Lashway
U.S. health officials are urging people to get the seasonal influenza vaccine now and out of the way before the H1N1 vaccine arrives in mid-October.
A few weeks ago scientists and doctors around the world thought people were going to have to line up three times this year to be inoculated for influenza; once for the regular seasonal flu and twice for the 2009 H1N1 strain.
On September 10, 2009 Australian and U.S. researchers announced one dose of the new H1N1 vaccine appears to be strong enough to protect adults from the newest influenza strain. Researchers say immunity will start working within 10 days of receiving the vaccine.
Unlike the regular seasonal flu that targets the older generations, the H1N1 strain is sickening the younger generations and unfortunately studies show children under the age of 10 will have to receive two doses of the H1N1 vaccine in order to have immunity against the swine flu.
The first dose will introduce their immune system to the flu strain that it has never come in contact with and the second vaccine that is to be administered 21 days later will produce the resistance they need.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institutes of Health’s, National Institutes of Allergy and Infectious Diseases say younger children’s immune systems are not yet mature enough to fight off the swine flu. This also stands true for younger children who are receiving the seasonal flu vaccine for the first time; they will need two doses of that inoculation as well.
According to Fauci barely any resistance showed up in tests conducted 8 to 10 days after the shot was administered on constituents under the age of 10. For that reason, the NIH made the decision to have children 10 and under receive two doses of the vaccine. Conversely, children 10 and older have shown enough resistance to the swine flu after just one dose.
Gregory Boulerice, a fourth grade student at Northern Adirondack Elementary School said, “My school has signs all over the building saying don’t spread germs, sneeze in your elbow and teachers are always telling us to wash our hands, and if we are not able to use a sink use the hand sanitizer that is throughout the building.”
Gregory’s sister, Alexis who is in the middle-school said her principle at the beginning of the year mentioned the swine flu briefly. “Teachers are reminding us it is important to use hand sanitizer and cough or sneeze in the sleeve of our shirt rather than in our hands.”
Both children did say they were not worried about the swine flu and if the school administers the shot they will get them there.
Carol Boulerice the mother of Gregory and Alexis is an elementary school teacher at Cumberland Head Elementary and says the swine flu is a huge topic there. “The swine flu has been our hot topic since the first day of school for the past two years. This year it’s especially a big deal. The administration and faculty have put together an emergency plan in preparation of an outbreak. Also, if a student or a faculty member runs a fever they cannot return to school until at least 24 hours after being fever free.” To Boulerice’s understanding the shots will be administered to all faculty, staff and students at her school and other area schools once the shots become available to Clinton County.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, priority groups that are recommended to get the vaccine aside from children are those between the ages of 6 months and 24 years of age, pregnant women, caretakers of children under the age of 6 months, healthcare workers and people between the ages of 25 and 64 who have chronic disorders and comprised immune systems.
The CDC does not expect to have a shortage of the H1N1 vaccine, but availability of the vaccine in the beginning might be limited. Therefore, the advisory committee of the CDC has comprised a list of people who should receive the vaccine first: pregnant women, people who live with or take care of children under the age of 6 months, healthcare workers who have direct contact with patients, children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years of age and lastly children between the ages of 5 and 18 who have chronic medical conditions.
Robin Chase, a registered nurse said, “If we don’t get the vaccine we will be without a job!” Chase also said, “I think there will be clinics for the H1N1 vaccine because people are going to have to prove they fall within the target groups in order to be the first to get them. It is easy to prove you are between the ages of 6 months and 24 years of age and in some cases pregnant, but you are going to have to prove you are a healthcare worker or child caretaker.” Chase did say she will receive the H1N1 vaccine at her place of employment.
Two forms of the vaccine will be available to the public. One will be administered through a shot and the other will be inhaled through a nasal spray. Chase said the nasal spray will probably be more popular for younger children and people who are afraid of needles.
Susan Devlin-Varin, a registered cardiac nurse said, “The reason some people refuse vaccines is because they are administered through needles and they have a fear of needles. It’s great the FDA has approved another way to administer the vaccine so people that would not normally get vaccines have the opportunity to do so.” Devlin-Varin did say it is mandatory for her to get the swine flu vaccine and will get it at her place of work.
Heather Rabideau, a secretary at a local pediatrician’s office who is expecting a baby next month said, “I only got the flu shot because I am pregnant, I am not sure about getting the H1N1 shot, I am going to have to read up on it.” Rabideau who is in contact with sick children and is pregnant says she is not worried about the swine flu but does take extra precaution while at work such as washing hands frequently and using hand sanitizer.
As for right now the H1N1 vaccine is anticipated to arrive in mid-October. The first 3.4 million doses of the vaccine will be in the form of nasal spray. According to the CDC, the U.S. ordered more doses of the H1N1 vaccine putting the final total at 251 million doses.