SWINE FLU UPDATE
Influenza Update
Dear patients,
In anticipation of demand for the new H1N1 vaccine, we want to alert you to the following:
- CMG has placed orders for the vaccine. Most offices will receive the inactivated vaccine; a few have also requested the live but weakened nasal spray vaccine.
- The inactivated vaccine, administered the conventional way (by upper arm injection), is indicated for all classes and ages. The only contraindication is a past history of egg allergy or documented sensitivity to thiomerosal. If you have demonstrated such thiomerosal sensitivity, you can still get the vaccine as the single dose, pre-filled syringes do NOT contain it. The live vaccine, administered by direct intra-nasal administration is for ages 2 through 49, who are free of diseases or treatments that compromise normal immune response. Check with your doctor if you are not sure if you qualify.
- CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) has recommended that certain groups of the population receive the 2009 H1N1 vaccine when it first becomes available. These target groups include pregnant women, people who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, persons between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old, and people ages of 25 through 64 years of age who are at higher risk for 2009 H1N1 because of chronic health disorders or compromised immune systems. They include spinal injured patients, diabetics, patients being treated for emphysema and asthma, congestive heart failure, immune compromise disorders and the elderly.
• New information, as it becomes available, will be posted on this website. We will also post when Concorde physicians receive the H1N1 vaccine. Please be advised that the Department of Health is regulating the distribution of the vaccine so not all physicians may receive their shipment at the same time. Once received, we will be administering the vaccine to our patients who meet the high risk criteria outlined above, first.
Arthur Lebowitz, MD
IMPORTANT VACCINE INFORMATION: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
LIVE, ATTENUATED (the nasal spray vaccine)
INACTIVATED VACCINE (administered by injection)
