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Flu Prevention Update
4.2 Million Flu Vaccine Doses Shipped This Week for
High-Priority Groups
Now 9 million doses to these special needs groups,
antiviral drugs stockpiled for use
Oct. 30, 2004- Over 4.2 million influenza vaccine
doses were shipped this week to health providers serving high-priority
groups as part of the plan announced on October 12 by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Aventis Pasteur. The Department
of Health and Human Services also said yesterday in has purchased a
stockpile of antiviral drugs to treat more than 7 million people.
Since October
11, 2004, more than 9 million doses of flu vaccine have been shipped to
the following groups:
> State
Public Health Departments
> Department of Veterans Administration
> Long-term Care Facilities/Acute Care Hospitals
> Vaccines for Children program
> Private physicians who care for young children
> HMOs and private providers serving high-priority groups
> Department of Defense
Vaccination is the best protection against
influenza, but there are alternatives. Antiviral drugs can be used
before someone becomes ill to prevent them from getting the flu or taken
within 1-2 days of first flu symptoms to reduce the severity of the
illness.
CDC estimates that about 40 million of people could
be treated this flu season with the antiviral drugs available. The HHS has
stockpiled enough antiviral drugs to treat more than 7 million people
during the 2004-2005 flu season. Other supplies of the antiviral drugs
are available through private health providers.
We are and will continue to take all the steps
possible to get vaccine out in an equitable way to those who need it
most, said CDC Director Dr. Julie Gerberding. The spirit of
cooperation we are seeing by Aventis Pasteur, state and local health
officials, clinicians, hospitals, and the public is extraordinary and is
what will help deal with this challenging situation.
Dr. Gerberding urged people to continue to be
patient and persistent as health officers work to fill vaccine coverage
gaps in the coming weeks. The approximately 16.5 million remaining doses
of vaccine will be shipped to public and private vaccine providers, at a
rate of about 2.5-3 million doses per week, primarily through early
December. About 2.6 million doses of the Aventis Pasteur vaccine will be
available for shipment in early January 2005.
On October 5, 2004, after Chiron Corporation
announced that none of the doses of influenza vaccine it had produced
would be available this year, CDC announced priority groups for
vaccination for the 2004-2005 influenza season:
> all children
aged 6-23 months,
> adults aged 65
years and older,
> persons aged
2-64 years with underlying chronic medical conditions,
> all women who
will be pregnant during influenza season,
> residents of
nursing homes and long-term care facilities,
> children 6
months-18 years of age on chronic aspirin therapy,
> health-care
workers with direct patient care, and
> out-of-home
caregivers and household contacts of children aged <6 months.
Influenza season is unpredictable. In most years,
the season peaks between December and March. It is too early to say how
severe the 2004-2005 season will be, but to date only sporadic cases
have been reported.
Everyone can take practical steps to help prevent
spread of flu:
> avoid close
contact with people who are sick
> keep your
distance from others if youre sick
> when possible,
stay home from work, school, and errands when you are sick, and dont
send your children to daycare or school if they are sick
> cover your
mouth and nose when coughing or sneezing, and
> clean your
hands often.
For more information about the flu, visit the CDC
Website:
http://www.cdc.gov/flu.
Copyright: SeniorJournal.com |
