H1N1 Vaccine Update -- Turkey Edition!!

As of this morning, we are pleased to report that we have H1N1 Vaccine available for patients aged 6 months - 35 months.

• We are currently giving the FIRST dose of this vaccine to those patients who have not yet had it
• We have a clinic scheduled for Monday, Nov 30 to begin administering these doses
• The vaccine is available to all patients in this age range
• Please call the office to schedule an appointment for your child if they are of this age

Regarding booster doses in this age range, as a reminder, it is recommended to receive a booster dose of the H1N1 vaccine 3-4 weeks after the first dose. This will hopefully provide more complete coverage against the virus.

• We believe we will be administering the booster doses in the near future
• However, we are currently ensuring each child has had their Primary, or FIRST, dose before we begin offering booster doses
• Please stay tuned to this post for updates on when we do in fact begin scheduling for the booster doses for this age group

For older children, we have only a few doses remaining. We are reserving them for high-risk patients, including those with asthma, heart disease, a newborn at home, or other high-risk situations (see previous posts for details). If your child falls into this category and has not received their FIRST dose of vaccine, please call the office to discuss scheduling them for the vaccine.

Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

H1N1 vaccine update, pre-thanksgiving edition

A few updates from Elm Street Pediatrics:

• Sadly, we have now given ALL of our 390 doses of H1N1 vaccine. All doses were given to those patients and families in the high-risk group, including asthmatics, those with heart disease, pregnant women, etc.
• With over 3000 patients in the practice, we apologize that we logistically could NOT vaccinate everyone who wanted to do so. We did our best to vaccinate all of the patients with the highest risk profiles as directed by the CDC. We were also limited in that we only had flu shots for ages 4 and up, and limited flu mist supplies for ages 2 and up; thus, we were unable to vaccinate those between 6 mos and 2 years -- nor could we vaccinate kids under age 4 with asthma or history of wheezing. Again, we apologize for this!
  
• We do not know when we will receive our next shipment, but we promise to update this site as soon as we have it.

H1N1 vaccine may be available through the Skokie Health Department in December for all patients in the priority risk groups, as long as you are an Illinois resident.

• Clinic dates there: Dec 3, Dec 6, Dec 9, Dec 12
• Location: Oakton Park, 4701 Oakton St, Skokie IL
• To make appointments: visit www.skokie.org
• Priority groups are: all children/ adolescents/ young adults (ages 6 mos-24 years), pregnant women, adults (ages 24-64) with chronic health issues, healthcare workers
• This clinic will offer boosters to children under age 10 as well. Remember, the booster should be given 3-4 weeks after the first dose is given.

Once again, the Thanksgiving Week Holiday Schedule:

• Monday: regular hours, 8:30-5:00
• Tuesday: regular hours, 8:30-7:00
• Wednesday: shortened hours, 8:30-2:00
• Thursday: office closed, physician available via pager at all times
• Friday: shortened hours, 8:30-2:00
• Saturday: regular hours, 9:00-1:00

Thanks and bear with us!

Boosters and Turkeys

Influenza H1N1 Vaccine Booster Doses:

• there have been many questions about who needs a booster vaccine for H1N1 influenza
• for children age 9 years old or less, it is recommended to receive a booster (second) dose of the vaccine 3-4 weeks after the first dose
• this booster dose is in order to achieve maximum efficacy (to make sure the body's immune system is maximally prepared to fight off infection if exposed to the H1N1 influenza)
  
• however, even if only 1 dose is given (in cases where the second dose is not given as recommended), the vaccine will likely still be at least partially effective, and maybe completely protective --- this information is different from what some families have been led to believe --- thus it is NOT true that without the booster dose, the vaccine is completely useless and ineffective....
• so what does "partially effective" mean?? in most cases, completely effective means preventing any illness from developing... partially effective likely means a less severe illness than would have occurred without any vaccine, often of shorter duration
  
• currently, we do not have enough vaccine in our office to offer booster doses to any children for the H1N1 vaccine, and we apologize that this is the case
  
• we cannot offer these booster doses because we have not yet received our complete ordered shipment of H1N1 vaccine from the Cook County Department of Public Health
• if and when we do receive our remaining shipment (which we still hope will happen later this month or early next month), we will begin offering booster doses at that time once all primary doses have been given
• as always, please feel free to call us and ask any questions about this or anything else....
• .... but please understand that unfortunately, we currently CANNOT schedule any patients for booster doses for the H1N1 vaccine

Thanksgiving Week Holiday Schedule:

• Monday: regular hours, 8:30-5:00
• Tuesday: regular hours, 8:30-7:00
• Wednesday: shortened hours, 8:30-2:00
• Thursday: office closed, physician available via pager at all times
• Friday: shortened hours, 8:30-2:00
• Saturday: regular hours, 9:00-1:00
  

*** As always, we are available at any time all week by paging the physician on call at 847-501-4040. Please don't hesitate to page us with any issues...


Thanks for reading! Happy holidays and safe travels to all during this holiday period. Please call us with any questions or concerns...
-esp

Priority List for H1N1 Vaccine

The past week was very exciting for us at Elm Street Pediatrics. We were able to begin administering doses of the H1N1 vaccine to those patients and families in the high priority, or Tier 1, group. We apologize that at times there were some long waits in the office to receive the vaccine, but the demand is high and we are doing the best we can to vaccinate everyone in a timely manner.

That said, we are continuing this upcoming week with scheduling of the H1N1 vaccine for out Tier 1 families. IF YOU ARE IN THE TIER 1 GROUP, AND WE HAVE NOT CONTACTED YOU ABOUT RECEIVING THE VACCINE, PLEASE CALL OUR OFFICE AND REQUEST AN APPOINTMENT SO THAT YOU MAY RECEIVE IT. We have done our best to identify those of you in that category; however, if we overlooked you or your family, please call to let us know so we can schedule you for the vaccine! Please note that we have not yet started vaccinating any children younger than age 2, as we have not yet received those vaccines in our office.

The vaccines we have received are the following:
* Inactivated shot for people over age 4
* Live nasal mist for people over 2 years of age
* THUS: we do NOT yet have any vaccines for patients age 6 mos-2 years old, and we are NOT able to vaccinate asthmatics under age 4, as they are ineligible to receive the nasal mist vaccine

Tier One patients are as follows:
* Pregnant women (must receive the inactivated vaccine -- not the nasal spray)
* People who live with and care for those less than 6 months of age
* Children 6 months to 4 years of age
* Children 5 to 18 years of age with chronic medical conditions that increase the risk for influenza-related complications (asthma, heart disease, diabetes, etc)

In addition, recent government-sponsored trials have shown the vaccine thus far to be both safe and effective; see the following for details:
http://www.flu.gov/news/blogs/2009niaid.html

Thanks and hope you are enjoying the surprising weather!!!
-esp

First Shipment of H1N1 Vaccine Arrives at ESP!

Word of mouth travels quickly around here, but in case you have not heard, it is true that we have received our first shipment of H1N1 vaccine. Here are the details:

- we have received a partial shipment of our supply
- the doses we have received are not for children under age 2 years
- we will begin by vaccinating our high risk patients, and will call those families to schedule the vaccine; this includes: asthmatics, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune disease, chronic lung disease, families with infants under 6 months of age at home, pregnant women who have not received the vaccine from their Ob/ Gyn and who are recommended by their Ob/ Gyn to receive it
- if you believe you are a high risk patient but have not heard from us to schedule, please call us to discuss

** we have not begun vaccinating patients or families who are outside of this high priority grouping, but will update this post when that does occur; we will also update this as soon as we receive further shipments of vaccine, hopefully in the next few weeks


THANKS FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND UNDERSTANDING IN THIS DIFFICULT TIME!
- esp

No H1N1 Vaccine Yet at ESP -- Though May Be Available Through CCDPH

As all of you well know, we unfortunately have still not received the H1N1 Vaccine. Although we were initially told when we ordered it that we would have our doses in early November, this does not appear to be the case. We know you are all worried and frustrated, and we are as well. We have contacted various sources in the media to express our anger, and there was a brief article detailing our concerns in the Chicago Tribune today, if you are interested.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/chi-flu-vaccine-anger_glantonnov07,0,3003622.story

More importantly, however, is the fact that we are still not sure when we will receive the vaccine. We would like to again emphasize that if you have the opportunity to have your child vaccinated against H1N1 at school or a public health office, we recommend that you do so!! It is also possible that some of the local area pharmacies will receive the vaccine before we do, and that you will be able to get your child the vaccine at these locations. Like us, however, they were told they would have their doses by now, and they do not either.

It is still possible, as detailed in the last newsletter, to attempt to schedule an appointment to receive the vaccine through the Cook County Department of Public Health. Some of our patients have been able to get vaccinated this way. Once again, to do this, please use the following resources (note that although we are located in the NORTH district, it may be faster to call one of the other district numbers to schedule -- that is a tip i received from one of our savvy patients!):

http://www.cookcountypublichealth.org/files/Fludocs/h1n1%20vaccine%20flyer_10-29-09.pdf

As always... thanks for reading and stay healthy!!!
- esp