JUNEAU — Public health officials have postponed scheduled H1N1 vaccination clinics across Dodge County because fewer vaccinations than anticipated have been produced.
Jody Langfeldt, supervisor of the public health unit of Dodge County Human Services and Health Department, said about 20 planned school-based clinics have been postponed at the request of the State Department of Health Services. The first wave of vaccines the county has secured will be used to treat a narrower subset of people than anticipated at a large clinic on Nov. 7 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Dodgeland Schools in Juneau.
“We’ll do this clinic and give vaccines as long as we have vaccine or until the clinic is over. If we get a large of people, we don’t have a large amount of vaccine. We do have some, and we’ve been ordering as we’ve been able to,” Langfeldt said.
The Nov. 7 clinic will target pregnant women, and those who live with or care for children under six months of age; health care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients; and children and adolescents five to 18 years of age that are at a higher risk of influenza-related complications due to chronic illness.
The State Department of Health Services stated in a press release that Wisconsin has received about 407,000 doses of vaccine thus far.
“As we have seen in every state in the nation, the supply of H1N1 vaccination is unpredictable. Therefore the safest course of action is to target the vaccine we do have for those most at risk of becoming seriously ill from this virus. While we do not anticipate this will not need to be a long-term strategy, we’ve issued guidance to help our health professionals make the largest impact with the vaccine as possible,” said Secretary of the State Department of Health Services.
Langfeldt said that when production of the H1N1 vaccine began, the federal government anticipated receiving 40 million vaccines by the end of last week. In reality, only 16 million vaccines were issued nationwide. While Langfeldt did not want to comment on the exact number of vaccines that Dodge County has received, she conceded that it’s “not a whole lot.”
“There’s hope that things will pick up and improve. Why there’s been this problem, nobody knows or nobody is saying,” she said.
But the county has received nasal mist and indictable forms of the vaccine.
“Both are equally effective, one is not better than the other. The nasal mist vaccine is what’s called a live attenuated vaccine. That just means that it’s a weakened, live virus,” Langfeldt said. “It does limit the types of individuals, based on health problems, that can receive the nasal mist. To get the mist you pretty much between the ages of two and 49 and be very healthy.”
Word from state agencies, Langfeldt said, is that more vaccines will be coming into the state in about two weeks. However, it’s not known exactly how long it will take for them to make their way to Dodge County.
While production and distribution of the H1N1 vaccination has been significantly slower than anticipated, spread of the virus has been steady.
“At this point, because it’s quite early for people to be having seasonal influenza, the estimation is pretty much that if you have influenza like illness, you probably have H1N1,” Langfeldt said. “It really is early for us to be seeing seasonal influenza.”
That, however, does not mean that anyone exhibiting flu-like symptoms should rush an emergency room.
Medical professionals urge people with flu-like symptoms to stay home, drink plenty of non-alcoholic fluids, get plenty of rest, keep away from others except when seeking medical care, and to stay at home for at least 24 hours after a fever subsides.
You should seek medical attention if symptoms improve and then return with fever and worse cough, you experience any fever over 102 degrees, fever with rash, blue skin or lips, extreme sleepiness, refusal to eat or drink, severe repeated vomiting or inability to keep fluids down. Medical attention is also suggested for infants who do not want to be held.
Those exhibiting less severe symptoms can also seek treatment at Beaver Dam Fast Care Clinics located in the Beaver Dam Shopko and Marshland Pharmacy in Mayville.