Status Quo

No significant changes occurred this past week in reference to vaccine supply or disease trends.

We anticipate news this week on the return of seasonal flu vaccine so check frequently this week to determine how best to get your children vaccinated with this important vaccine. There has been reports over the last week or two of an increase in severity of illnesses related to influenza in eastern Europe. They feel that the increase is due to 3 different strains of flu, one of which is H1N1, causing disease in their communities. They feel that the increase in severity of illness is due to people contracting more then one strain at a time. This certainly would justify the importance of getting this years seasonal vaccine as well. Remember that the H1N1 vaccine gives no protection against seasonal flu strains and vice verse. Please also remember to get that second dose of vaccine if this is your child's first year to be immunized against seasonal flu and your child is less then 9 and for H1N1 if your child is less then 10. There is no way to predict the level of protection that your child received from dose #1. The first dose is given to prime the immune response and the second dose to provide protection. Responses to dose number one range from no protection to partial protection and there is no way to know how long that partial will persist. DOSE #2 IS VERY IMPORTANT SO DON'T MISS IT!

National trends in disease continue to decline and it is impossible to say if this is due to the natural course of the disease or due to vaccine. If it is due to vaccine efforts, which it has to have had some impact, then the decline will eventually plateau until all of those not vaccinated become immune by contracting the disease. This would leave those not yet affected by the disease and not yet vaccinated an important choice. Please choose vaccination!