Related links
-
Follow Swine Flu on Twitter
Swine flu is spreading across Connecticut, but finding the vaccine against it can be a struggle. Calls to some pediatricians' offices produce little more than a busy signal. Other doctors have added recordings to their phone messages about high call volume because of flu.
Dr. Brad Wilkinson isn't so hard to get hold of, but you won't get the swine flu vaccine from him. Like many doctors, the Durham family physician's practice filled out the required state form to request the vaccine when it became available. But so far, he's still waiting, advising his patients to call back in two to three weeks, and, if they find a way to get it elsewhere first, to do so.
"It's been sort of an immunization black hole," he said.
Flu activity is increasing in the state, with some schools closed because of high absentee rates and, on Tuesday, the state's third death linked to the H1N1 virus since Aug. 30. The 64-year-old woman who died at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London had underlying health problems, as did two other flu patients who have died since Aug. 30.
But the H1N1 vaccine supply continues to lag behind what state and federal officials had expected, leaving some patients and doctors scrambling to find ways to vaccinate those at highest risk for complications from the virus.
State officials had expected to have more than 500,000 doses of the vaccine in Connecticut by the middle of this month, but by Wednesday, health providers in the state had received only 178,800, according to the state Department of Public Health. State and federal health officials say that eventually there will be enough vaccine for everyone who wants it, but nationwide, vaccine production and delivery lag earlier predictions.
State officials have advised people to call their doctors to get the vaccine, but some doctors don't have it yet. In those cases, state health department spokesman William Gerrish said, people should call their local mass dispensing area — a list of them is available at www.ct.gov/dph/mda — to find out when there will be a public clinic or a clinic offered by another provider.
It's not just phone calls that are keeping doctors busy.
"We've been getting bombarded with calls, and now we're getting bombarded with people who have the flu," Wilkinson said.
Most years, Wilkinson said, many people come in thinking they have the flu but instead have a bad cold. This year, he said, people are coming in with high fevers, shaking, chills and body aches, and test positive for flu. The practice does not test to determine whether it is H1N1 or seasonal flu because that test is expensive and knowing which strain it is would not affect the patient's treatment.
"We've seen nobody that we've even thought of hospitalization," Wilkinson said. "The poor people are pretty miserable, though, and we feel badly for them, but I personally haven't seen any cases that come close to needing hospitalization."
Several schools have already closed because of high absentee rates, and on Wednesday, officials closed East Haven Academy for the rest of the week after a third of the student body and five teachers became ill with flu-like symptoms, said Marilyn M. Vitale, the chairwoman of the board of education. The district's other schools will remain open.
At Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, the percent of emergency room visits attributed to flu-like symptoms rose from about 5 to 6 percent last week to about 18 percent Tuesday, director of public relations Kelly Anthony said. Most have had mild symptoms; only two have been hospitalized with H1N1, he said.
The woman who died Tuesday came to the hospital more than a week ago with underlying medical conditions that compromised her ability to fight the flu virus, Anthony said. He called her death "atypical."
"A healthy 64-year-old individual would have been able to fight this off," he said.
Patients at high risk of complications whose doctors are not carrying the vaccine can also ask for referrals to doctors who do have it, said Dr. Matthew Cartter, the state epidemiologist.
"In a pandemic situation, and I'm speaking as a physician, if a service is not provided by a doctor, I think a physician has an obligation to guide their patients to ... where they can reasonably get it," he said.
So how is the limited supply divvied up?
It happens on a weekly basis, when state health officials learn from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how much vaccine and which type the state will get.
Dr. Brad Wilkinson isn't so hard to get hold of, but you won't get the swine flu vaccine from him. Like many doctors, the Durham family physician's practice filled out the required state form to request the vaccine when it became available. But so far, he's still waiting, advising his patients to call back in two to three weeks, and, if they find a way to get it elsewhere first, to do so.
"It's been sort of an immunization black hole," he said.
Flu activity is increasing in the state, with some schools closed because of high absentee rates and, on Tuesday, the state's third death linked to the H1N1 virus since Aug. 30. The 64-year-old woman who died at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London had underlying health problems, as did two other flu patients who have died since Aug. 30.
But the H1N1 vaccine supply continues to lag behind what state and federal officials had expected, leaving some patients and doctors scrambling to find ways to vaccinate those at highest risk for complications from the virus.
State officials had expected to have more than 500,000 doses of the vaccine in Connecticut by the middle of this month, but by Wednesday, health providers in the state had received only 178,800, according to the state Department of Public Health. State and federal health officials say that eventually there will be enough vaccine for everyone who wants it, but nationwide, vaccine production and delivery lag earlier predictions.
State officials have advised people to call their doctors to get the vaccine, but some doctors don't have it yet. In those cases, state health department spokesman William Gerrish said, people should call their local mass dispensing area — a list of them is available at www.ct.gov/dph/mda — to find out when there will be a public clinic or a clinic offered by another provider.
It's not just phone calls that are keeping doctors busy.
"We've been getting bombarded with calls, and now we're getting bombarded with people who have the flu," Wilkinson said.
Most years, Wilkinson said, many people come in thinking they have the flu but instead have a bad cold. This year, he said, people are coming in with high fevers, shaking, chills and body aches, and test positive for flu. The practice does not test to determine whether it is H1N1 or seasonal flu because that test is expensive and knowing which strain it is would not affect the patient's treatment.
"We've seen nobody that we've even thought of hospitalization," Wilkinson said. "The poor people are pretty miserable, though, and we feel badly for them, but I personally haven't seen any cases that come close to needing hospitalization."
Several schools have already closed because of high absentee rates, and on Wednesday, officials closed East Haven Academy for the rest of the week after a third of the student body and five teachers became ill with flu-like symptoms, said Marilyn M. Vitale, the chairwoman of the board of education. The district's other schools will remain open.
At Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, the percent of emergency room visits attributed to flu-like symptoms rose from about 5 to 6 percent last week to about 18 percent Tuesday, director of public relations Kelly Anthony said. Most have had mild symptoms; only two have been hospitalized with H1N1, he said.
The woman who died Tuesday came to the hospital more than a week ago with underlying medical conditions that compromised her ability to fight the flu virus, Anthony said. He called her death "atypical."
"A healthy 64-year-old individual would have been able to fight this off," he said.
Patients at high risk of complications whose doctors are not carrying the vaccine can also ask for referrals to doctors who do have it, said Dr. Matthew Cartter, the state epidemiologist.
"In a pandemic situation, and I'm speaking as a physician, if a service is not provided by a doctor, I think a physician has an obligation to guide their patients to ... where they can reasonably get it," he said.
Who Gets What
Unlike the seasonal flu vaccine, which health providers can order directly from manufacturers, all the H1N1 vaccine is ordered through the state and delivered directly to providers.So how is the limited supply divvied up?
It happens on a weekly basis, when state health officials learn from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention how much vaccine and which type the state will get.
