H1N1 vaccine made a priority
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Updated: October 02, 2009 4:25 PM
VICTORIA – A newly developed vaccine for H1N1 influenza will be distributed to anyone who wants it as soon as it is available in November, and distribution of the seasonal influenza vaccine will be suspended to allow public health officials to focus on it.
Dr. Perry Kendall, provincial health officer for B.C., made the announcement Monday at the health ministry headquarters in Victoria. Kendall said the logistics of delivering two and perhaps even three different vaccines this year are unusually difficult, so B.C. has decided to put the priority on people at high risk of seasonal influenza first.
Starting Oct. 13, seasonal influenza shots will be offered to people aged 65 and older, and residents in long-term care homes. A separate pneumococcal vaccine will be available at the same time to protect seniors and people with chronic medical conditions from influenza-related pneumonia.
When the H1N1 vaccine is available in November, it will be made available to anyone who wants it, Kendall said. This year’s version of the seasonal influenza shot will be offered again in early 2010 to people under 65.
H1N1, a strain dubbed swine flu when it emerged from Mexico last spring, tends to target younger people, and people born before 1957 appear to have some immunity from it. Kendall said there is a third influenza vaccine in development that could possibly be available this year for pregnant women and children under three years old.
Other provinces have also decided to suspend their seasonal influenza campaigns to give priority to the H1N1, which could end up as the dominant virus this winter. Kendall said there is also some preliminary indication that seasonal influenza vaccines may be related to contracting H1N1.
“We still have some uncertainty around the timing of the novel H1N1 vaccine availability, and we also have the potential of a rather perplexing interaction between prior seasonal influenza vaccination and an inherent risk of acquiring H1N1 flu virus,” Kendall said.
Influenza is primarily a respiratory illness. Staying home when feeling ill, frequent hand washing and sneezing or coughing into your sleeve are recommended to prevent the spread of all strains of influenza.
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