H1N1 Recalls, Holiday Hours, and Booster Info

H1N1 Vaccine Recalls

• Some of you may have read or heard on the news that certain lots of Thimersol-free H1N1 injectable Vaccine given to patients ages 6 mos-35 mos were recently recalled
• None of the Nasal Mist was recalled
  
• We are happy to say that we did not have these lots at Elm Street Pediatrics, so if you received the vaccine at our office, this does not affect your child!!
• In addition, please note: the recall did NOT happen because the vaccines were unsafe in any way, but rather due to questions of their effectiveness; thus, do not let this news worry you about the safety of the vaccines your child received

H1N1 and Influenza Booster Info

• As noted previously, we are currently offering booster doses for both the H1N1 and Seasonal Flu vaccines
• All children under age 10 are recommended to receive boosters of the H1N1 vaccine, ideally 4 weeks but as soon as 3 weeks after the first dose
• All children receiving the seasonal flu shot for the first time under age 9 are also recommended to get a booster shot at least 4 weeks following the first dose
• In order to make scheduling smoother and easier, please do NOT call to schedule the booster until your child is due to receive it... we cannot schedule all children for boosters several weeks in advance as our flu clinic schedules are not set that far ahead of time!!
• Thanks for your understanding with that issue!

Holiday Hours:

• A reminder of our holiday hours:
• Thurday Dec 24 and Thursday Dec 31: 8:30 am-1:00 pm with walk-ins from 8:30-10 am
  
• Friday Dec 25 and Friday Jan 1: closed for holiday, but available via pager/ on-call as needed
• Saturday Dec 26 and Saturday Jan 2: open as regular Saturday hours starting at 9:00 am

Thank you!
Happy holidays!!
Stay Warm!!!

-esp

Boosters Galore

Good news from Elm Street Pediatrics regarding Flu vaccines....

H1N1 Vaccine

• First dose and booster doses now available for the following ages: 6 mos-35 mos, 4 years and older
• For kids aged 36 mos-4 years old (i.e. 3 year olds) please discuss with one of the physicians to determine the best approach
• For the booster: it is ideally given 21-28 days after the first dose; also, if the first dose was a mist, it is preferred that the second is a mist -- likewise if the first dose was a shot, it is preferred that the second is a shot -- however, if for availability reasons it is necessary to get the other form of vaccine, that IS acceptable
  
• Please call the front desk to schedule
  

Seasonal Flu Vaccine

• The seasonal flu vaccine is available for ALL kids 6 months of age and older on a first come, first serve basis
  
• Please call the front desk to schedule

What illnesses are going around now??

• We are still seeing H1N1 Influenza circulating in the community
• It is true that we are seeing less H1N1 flu than we had seen in previous months
• December is typically the beginning of Seasonal Influenza
• We are starting to see seasonal Influenza this month; this typically peaks in February and extends into the spring months, however every season is slightly different.
  

The AAP has launched a new website for parents, with tips and links.

• If you are interested: http://healthychildren.org/
  

A special thanks to all the extra work put in by our front office and nursing staff during this busy time, as we try to vaccinate everyone as quickly as possible...

Thanks for reading!

Happy holidays!! Our Holiday hours will be posted next week.


Please don't hesitate to call with ANY questions, comments, or concerns!!!

- the doctors at Elm Street Pediatrics

H1N1 Vaccines, New Thursday Walk-In Hours, and Other Notes

H1N1 Vaccine Update: Kids Between ages 6 mos and 35 mos old

• We have H1N1 vaccine for children of this age!
• If your child has not been scheduled for this vaccine yet, you may call and schedule them with the front desk
  
• Booster doses for this age group are available as well, and will be until we run out of vaccine; this second dose is recommended 3-4 weeks after the first dose is given
• The CDC estimates that for children of this age, 30% of children are fully protected after 1 dose of vaccine, while approximately 95% are fully protected after the second dose of vaccine

H1N1 Vaccine Update: School-Aged Kids

• The Winnetka School District has announced its vaccination plan for kids ages kindergarten-8th grade: http://www.winnetka36.org/newsfeed.php?ID=6619
• We do recommend the H1N1 vaccine for this age group
• As a reminder, booster doses are recommended 3-4 weeks after the first dose is given for all kids under age 10
• For children not in the Winnetka School District, a reminder that vaccine is available through Skokie, as mentioned previously in this newsletter
  

Office Hours/ Walk-Ins

• In the past, we have not offered walk-ins on Thursday mornings, and have opened the office at 9 AM on those days
• During this busy winter season of December and January, we have adjusted our hours as follows: we have added walk-in hours from 8:30-10 AM on Thursdays
  
• Thus, we will now offer walk-in hours starting at 8:30 AM every day Monday-Friday during December and January on a trial basis to see if this is helpful for you all -- our patients!!

Seasonal Flu Vaccine

• We anticipate getting our next shipment of this vaccine sometime this week, so we hope this will be available soon
• We will update this blog once it is available!!
  

Well Visits: A reminder

• Just as a reminder, the schedule for well-child visits, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics is as follows
  
• infants: 1 month, 2 months, 4 months, 6 months, 9 months, 12 months
• toddler: 15 months, 18 months, 2 yrs, 2.5 yrs, 3 yrs
• after age 3: once yearly every year through age 18 (this has changed from previous, and is different from what was formerly posted on our website!)
  

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