My OperaCDC to collect El Paso's unused H1N1 vaccines
Monday, April 12, 2010 9:02:27 PM
By Diana Washington Valdez
El Paso Times
Posted: 04/12/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
EL PASO -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to collect millions of unused H1N1 flu vaccine doses before they are dumped.
El Paso County is among the communities nationwide that have leftover doses of the once highly sought vaccine.
The federal government had allocated 8.4 million H1N1 flu vaccine doses for Texas, and the state in turn earmarked 270,774 doses for El Paso County.
However, neither the state or the county knows exactly how much useful vaccine will be available for the CDC's recovery program. The CDC estimates that nationally millions of doses will be left over.
"The CDC has announced it will have a central vaccine recovery program, and we are considering participation," said Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Department. "The CDC does not have details yet on how this will be handled."
The CDC shipped its first vaccine doses to the states in early October. Texas allocated 76,687 doses to the El Paso Department of Public Health. As of last week, the department had received 45,120 doses, and had 7,050 doses left over.
"Vaccine is still arriving, and we continue to encourage people to get the flu shot," said Armando Saldivar, spokesman for the city's Department of Public Health.
El Paso officials don't know if the state still plans to ship the other 24,517 doses earmarked for the city health department.
Despite the large number of H1N1 flu vaccine doses received, the CDC reported less than stellar coverage for Texas and other states.
For example, only 24.9 percent of the target group ranging in age from six months to 17 years old received the vaccine. Also, just less than 14 percent of Texans age 18 and older received it.
"We would like for the coverage to be better, but this was a unique and unprecedented situation with the H1N1 flu virus, and with the states having to funnel the vaccine for the federal government," Williams said.
In its April 2 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC said H1N1 vaccination rates varied widely among the states, and cited the need for improvement.
The first H1N1 flu outbreak was reported in Mexico a year ago. Health officials said the virus was new, and contained two parts swine flu virus, one part human flu virus and one part bird flu virus.
According to initial reports, it appeared highly lethal, especially among young people. Health officials scrambled to get a vaccine under way to protect against a potential repeat of the 1910 Spanish flu that killed millions of people worldwide.
The H1N1 flu turned out to be milder than expected. The flu season in the United States usually ends in April, and by then most people stopped seeking the vaccine.
The vaccine's shelf-life varies, depending on the maker and whether it is in the mist, injectable or vial form. The mist form uses a live virus, and thus has a shorter life than the other two forms.
Saldivar said about 200 vaccine doses at the city health department will expire this May. "The rest expire in May 2011," he said.
In addition to the city, other health providers conducted mass vaccination drives in El Paso during the fall and early winter, as soon as they could get the vaccine.
Dr. Michael Hill, director of the city Department of Public Health, said the CDC is working on the guidelines for the unused vaccine.
"They're considering taking it back and sending it to other countries that need it, rather than just dumping it," Hill said. "We're one of the few ones that are still beating the bushes for people to get the vaccine."
El Paso County is nearly free of flu cases, but an uptick in H1N1 flu activity in the Atlanta area has health officials wondering whether the virus is making a comeback. By now, it also could have mutated.
Hill said the next flu vaccine will protect against the H1N1 virus and other flu viruses expected to hit the nation later this year.
"From this experience, we learned that you have to be prepared for anything. We always thought the next pandemic would start in Asia and spread here," Hill said. "We did not imagine what actually occurred.
"We also spent much of our time and efforts trying to get people to remain calm in light of the scare-type tactics they were hearing from others. We had to work hard to let the public know that the vaccine was safe."
Copyright © 2010 by the El Paso Times and MediaNews Group and/or wire services and suppliers.
El Paso Times
Posted: 04/12/2010 12:00:00 AM MDT
EL PASO -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention plans to collect millions of unused H1N1 flu vaccine doses before they are dumped.
El Paso County is among the communities nationwide that have leftover doses of the once highly sought vaccine.
The federal government had allocated 8.4 million H1N1 flu vaccine doses for Texas, and the state in turn earmarked 270,774 doses for El Paso County.
However, neither the state or the county knows exactly how much useful vaccine will be available for the CDC's recovery program. The CDC estimates that nationally millions of doses will be left over.
"The CDC has announced it will have a central vaccine recovery program, and we are considering participation," said Carrie Williams, spokeswoman for the Texas Health and Human Services Department. "The CDC does not have details yet on how this will be handled."
The CDC shipped its first vaccine doses to the states in early October. Texas allocated 76,687 doses to the El Paso Department of Public Health. As of last week, the department had received 45,120 doses, and had 7,050 doses left over.
"Vaccine is still arriving, and we continue to encourage people to get the flu shot," said Armando Saldivar, spokesman for the city's Department of Public Health.
El Paso officials don't know if the state still plans to ship the other 24,517 doses earmarked for the city health department.
Despite the large number of H1N1 flu vaccine doses received, the CDC reported less than stellar coverage for Texas and other states.
For example, only 24.9 percent of the target group ranging in age from six months to 17 years old received the vaccine. Also, just less than 14 percent of Texans age 18 and older received it.
"We would like for the coverage to be better, but this was a unique and unprecedented situation with the H1N1 flu virus, and with the states having to funnel the vaccine for the federal government," Williams said.
In its April 2 Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, the CDC said H1N1 vaccination rates varied widely among the states, and cited the need for improvement.
The first H1N1 flu outbreak was reported in Mexico a year ago. Health officials said the virus was new, and contained two parts swine flu virus, one part human flu virus and one part bird flu virus.
According to initial reports, it appeared highly lethal, especially among young people. Health officials scrambled to get a vaccine under way to protect against a potential repeat of the 1910 Spanish flu that killed millions of people worldwide.
The H1N1 flu turned out to be milder than expected. The flu season in the United States usually ends in April, and by then most people stopped seeking the vaccine.
The vaccine's shelf-life varies, depending on the maker and whether it is in the mist, injectable or vial form. The mist form uses a live virus, and thus has a shorter life than the other two forms.
Saldivar said about 200 vaccine doses at the city health department will expire this May. "The rest expire in May 2011," he said.
In addition to the city, other health providers conducted mass vaccination drives in El Paso during the fall and early winter, as soon as they could get the vaccine.
Dr. Michael Hill, director of the city Department of Public Health, said the CDC is working on the guidelines for the unused vaccine.
"They're considering taking it back and sending it to other countries that need it, rather than just dumping it," Hill said. "We're one of the few ones that are still beating the bushes for people to get the vaccine."
El Paso County is nearly free of flu cases, but an uptick in H1N1 flu activity in the Atlanta area has health officials wondering whether the virus is making a comeback. By now, it also could have mutated.
Hill said the next flu vaccine will protect against the H1N1 virus and other flu viruses expected to hit the nation later this year.
"From this experience, we learned that you have to be prepared for anything. We always thought the next pandemic would start in Asia and spread here," Hill said. "We did not imagine what actually occurred.
"We also spent much of our time and efforts trying to get people to remain calm in light of the scare-type tactics they were hearing from others. We had to work hard to let the public know that the vaccine was safe."
Copyright © 2010 by the El Paso Times and MediaNews Group and/or wire services and suppliers.
You must be 
(40%)
