Connecticut Expecting 1st Round Of Swine Flu Vaccine This Week
Connecticut will get its first round of swine flu vaccine this week ' 20,000 doses of nasal spray intended for those at high risk.
An additional 500,000 doses of both injectable and intranasal vaccine are expected to arrive by mid-October, followed by several thousand in weekly shipments after that.
Dr. Jack Ross, director of infectious diseases at Hartford Hospital, said he has been getting many questions about the vaccine's safety. The concern, he said, probably stems from 1976, when a national swine flu immunization program was canceled after some people who received the vaccine became ill.
"This is a very different situation," Ross said. "This vaccine is being prepared exactly the way they do the seasonal [ flu] vaccine that all of us have been getting for 20 years or more." Ross said he plans to recommend the H1N1 flu vaccine to everyone, just as he would the seasonal flu vaccine.
Here are some commonly asked questions about the vaccine.
Q. How can I get the vaccine?
A. Ask your doctor if he or she will be getting the novel H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available. If you don't have a doctor, call your local health department or health district. You can find your local health department or district at www.ct.gov/dph/mda or by calling 211.
Q.How much does the vaccine cost?
A.The vaccine itself is being provided free by the federal government. However, health providers may charge an administrative fee. Many health insurance plans will cover this fee.
Q. How safe is the vaccine?
A. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention expects the vaccine to be similar in safety to the seasonal flu vaccines, which hundreds of millions of Americans have received.
Dr. Robert Lyons, chief of infectious diseases at St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford, says he will recommend the vaccine to patients. "There's no reason to expect the vaccine to be troublesome or unsafe," he said. "Obviously, until it's being used you can't say for certain, but there's no real reason for people to be afraid of the vaccine."
Q. Can everyone get the vaccine?
A. There is expected to be enough vaccine produced for everyone who wants it, but it will not all arrive at once. The state's vaccine distribution plan calls for certain groups at high risk for complications from H1N1 flu to receive the vaccine first.
The initial shipment will be for healthy children aged 2 to 4, who are at greater risk for severe illness from swine flu.
It will also be available to people who care for or live with children under 6 months, and to hospital health care workers and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients.
When more vaccine arrives, including the injectable form, it will also be available first to other groups considered high risk: pregnant women, caregivers of children under 6 months old, children between 6 months and 4 years old, and children aged 5 to 18 who have chronic medical conditions. Once the priority groups are immunized, vaccine would be rolled out to other children and adults under 65.
Providers have been asked to vaccinate people 65 or older after the demand for vaccination among younger people has been satisfied.
Q. Why are people 65 and older not in a priority group?
A. Studies indicate that people 65 and older have a lower risk of infection than younger people, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That could be because older people may have been exposed to a similar virus 45 to 50 years ago, Lyons said. Still, Lyons recommended that people over 65 get the H1N1 vaccine when it becomes available to them.
Q. How many doses do I need? How soon will it take effect?
A. Contrary to earlier predictions, people 10 and older will only need one dose of the vaccine. Children under 10 will need two doses, separated by four weeks, because they do not build up enough immunity from one dose. Experts say people appear to develop protection against swine flu eight to 10 days after getting the vaccine.
Q. What is the difference between the nasal spray and the shot?
A. The injectable form of the vaccine contains a killed virus, while the nasal spray is made with live, weakened viruses that do not cause flu. The nasal spray is approved only for healthy people between age 2 and 49 who are not pregnant. Some people who receive the nasal spray may experience muscle aches or fatigue, but that is from the body's immune response to the vaccine, not the flu, Ross said.
Q. Does the H1N1 vaccine protect against seasonal flu?
A. No. For protection against seasonal flu, people must get a separate vaccine. A list of clinics offering the seasonal flu vaccine is available at www.flucliniclocator.org.
Q. Does the H1N1 vaccine contain thimerosal?
A. Some of the vaccines contain thimerosal, a preservative that some people believe may be linked to autism, although health officials say thimerosal is not a problem. Injectable H1N1 vaccine that comes in multidose vials has thimerosal, but the nasal spray vaccine does not contain thimerosal. Some injectable vaccine will also be available in single-dose units that will not have thimerosal.
Q. Who should not receive the vaccine?
A. The vaccine is grown in eggs, and people with a life-threatening allergy to chicken eggs, or to any other substance in the vaccine, should not receive the vaccine.
