Published: November 25, 2009 09:19 am      

County residents seek flu shots

The Grady County Health Department has been inundated with patients this week, after state health officials announced that all Oklahomans who wish to reduce their risk of H1N1 infection are now eligible to receive vaccinations.

Administrative Director Mike Milton said they've had a revolving door this week. As one leaves another comes in for a shot or nasal spray. He said they average 15-20 patients at a time.

"It's increased the interest and...It's strictly a preventive measure," he said.

Vaccine supplies remain limited, but demand from priority groups has dipped to a point where all Oklahomans can get a vaccine. The Oklahoma State Department of Health expects an additional 90,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine to be delivered to the state this week. The doses include both nasal spray and injectable vaccines.

“While we continue to emphasize the importance of vaccination for the priority groups, especially children and pregnant women, we are going to begin to vaccinate the general population today,” said State Epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley. “Vaccination continues to be the best way to protect yourself from the H1N1 flu and slow the spread of this pandemic."

She said that H1N1 infections have been widespread in Oklahoma since early September. However, statewide monitoring has shown a decline in influenza-linked hospitalizations. The virus is expected to circulate throughout the winter months, and could possibly resurge in the spring.

"There is a possibility that it may resurge, but nobody really knows," Milton said. "Hopefully it will continue to decline."

Since September 1, 890 Oklahomans have been hospitalized due to complications from influenza and 27 persons have died.

Ninety percent of the H1N1-related deaths have been persons less than 65 years old. This finding contrasts significantly with seasonal flu which tends to cause the greatest proportion of deaths among persons older than 65 years. The best protection against getting the flu is to receive both the vaccine for H1N1 flu and seasonal flu.

Dr. Lydia Dennis, of Tuttle, took her three-year-old son, J.R., to get both vaccines. She said she did not know if she should take him in, but the statistics of the pandemic worried her.

"The scary stuff is how the younger people are effected," she said.

Milton said that with a couple more months lead time, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention could have put the swine flu into the seasonal vaccine. The timing was off, and by the time H1N1 was declared a pandemic in April it was too late. Seasonal flu vaccines are released in October of the previous year. With a burgeoning pandemic health officials and the CDC scrambled to create the H1N1 vaccine, which took until October to reach the public

Supplies of the H1N1 vaccine remain limited and the state expects to continue to receive the vaccine through January.

For more information about the availability of H1N1 influenza vaccine in your area, call the Grady County Health Department or visit www.health.ok.gov.

The Oklahoma State Department of Health toll-free H1N1 hotline is 1-866-278-7134.