MORE FLU VACCINE INFORMATION!

1. Seasonal Flu Vaccine

As a reminder, the seasonal flu vaccine is in short supply, due to manufacturers shifting their production plans. They had to make H1N1 vaccine quickly, and so they temporarily halted production of some of their seasonal Flu vaccine. Thus the shortage.
We currently have a limited supply of the seasonal Flu vaccine, and are restricting remaining doses to high-risk individuals. This includes younger children aged 6 mos-2 years, children with asthma, and those with other chronic diseases.
We will be receiving more supply of the seasonal flu vaccine next month, so if you have not received it yet, there is still time!! Remember, the seasonal flu does not appear typically until December or January, and has not appeared yet this year either. Getting vacccinated this November or December should provide more than enough time to build up immunity for the peak flu months of January, February, and March.

2. H1N1 Flu

As many of you know, we have started to see confirmed cases of the H1N1 (swine) flu in the north shore of Chicago. This has led to much parental concern, and many questions about the vaccine availability.
Unfortunately, we still have not received our shipment of the H1N1 Flu vaccine. We hope to have it in the next 2-3 weeks. When we do receive it, as noted in previous posts of this newsletter, it will be given to high-priority patients first, followed by healthy children after that. If your child is high-risk (asthma, family members of infants 0-6 months old, other chronic medical conditions), please call the office to have your child's name placed on the priority list -- that way we can call you when the vaccine is available and be sure to reserve doses for your family.
Additionally, some schools may have the vaccine available before we do at the office. If you would like your child to receive the vaccine, and it is offered at the school, we encourage you to sign them up for it as we do not know for certain when we will have it, or how many doses we will have. We will continue to update this post weekly as we have new information.

Thanks and stay healthy!

-esp