Hawaii to give swine flu vaccine to health care workers first
By Diana Leone
Advertiser Staff Writer
People identified as most vulnerable to the H1N1 flu, or swine flu, will find out soon when, where and how they can get vaccinated, state health officials say.
The state Department of Health announced yesterday that the first shipment of up to 14,400 vaccine doses, expected in Hawai'i next week, will go first to health care workers.
Health care and emergency medical service providers are among the five groups of people to whom the state will give priority for the new vaccine, under federal Centers for Disease Control guidelines. The others are pregnant women, those in close contact with infants, people ages 6 months to 24 years, and those 25 to 64 years old with health conditions that could put them at higher risk for complications from influenza.
Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said those groups can expect to learn which doctors, clinics, health care centers or pharmacies will be providing H1N1 flu vaccinations as they are available from these sources:
The first batch of vaccines coming to Hawai'i will all be the nasal-spray type, which cannot be used by pregnant women or those with certain medical conditions.
Some doctors, clinics and pharmacies that have ordered the novel H1N1 vaccine may wait until they have both nasal spray and shot forms before offering it to the public, Okubo said.
The CDC said the injectable vaccine should begin delivery in mid-October and an estimated 10 million to 20 million doses of both forms of vaccine will be available for distribution nationwide each week after that.
The quantity of vaccine Hawai'i receives in coming weeks will depend on production levels and the orders being placed by state health care providers.
After priority groups have been served, healthy adults 25 to 64 will be recommended to get the vaccines. Seniors ages 65 and up will be the last group offered the H1N1 vaccine, because this age group is showing less likelihood to catch the disease, health officials say.
With Oct. 1 the start of traditional flu season and the number of flu cases already higher than normal on the Mainland, the Health Department is hiring 11 temporary workers with $2.1 million in emergency grant money from the CDC.
The jobs include four project assistants, two epidemiology field investigators and one each of public health educator, microbiologist, lab information technologist, planner and information technology specialist, Okubo said.
Starting in mid-October, the DOH will provide voluntary seasonal flu vaccinations to children at schools, as it has done for several years. When those vaccinations are complete, the department will offer a separate round of H1N1 vaccinations to schoolchildren whose guardians sign them up for it.
The rate of nonfatal flu cases — either seasonal or H1N1 — in Hawai'i now is down from earlier this summer, Okubo said. But widespread outbreaks, as are happening now in some Mainland states, could easily spread to Hawai'i at any time, she said.
Okubo confirmed that the state death toll from the H1N1 strain of flu between the first case in April and now remains at 10. In the same period, three people have died from the seasonal flu.
For now, the Health Department's advice to all is to get the seasonal flu vaccine, wash hands frequently, cover coughs and stay home if you get sick, Okubo said.
BEDS IN DEMAND
Meanwhile, the nonprofit group Trust for America's Health announced yesterday that Hawai'i is among 15 states that could run out of hospital beds in a mild pandemic, which is when about one-third of the population falls ill.
The report estimates that 6,410 people in Hawai'i may need to be hospitalized in a pandemic. This would mean 66 percent of the state's hospital beds could be filled during the height of the outbreak, based on estimates from the FluSurge model developed by the CDC.
"We are aware of that report and have been working closely with the Healthcare Association of Hawai'i (which represents hospitals and long-term care facilities) on mobile temporary hospital bed structures," Okubo said yesterday.
About 150 temporary hospital beds could be provided statewide through the mobile facilities and use of some non-hospital permanent facilities, said George Greene, chief executive officer of the Healthcare Association of Hawai'i.
"Given our overall disaster plan, we think Hawai'i is well-prepared to handle any surge" in flu patients, Greene said.
A Sept. 25 report from the CDC says that for the week of Sept. 13-19, influenza-like illness activity continued to increase nationwide. It listed 26 states with "widespread" influenza activity and noted almost all the flu cases identified were the 2009 H1N1 virus.
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