Duval County Health Department - H1N1 Weekly Update

March 5, 2010

The Duval County Health Department (DCHD) will now offer H1N1 Swine Flu Vaccine to all individuals that wish to be vaccinated, free of charge, while supplies last. Scheduling for free H1N1 vaccine clinics offered by DCHD will be announced on a week-by-week basis. Residents are encouraged to visit weekly to view the most recent clinic schedules. Current DCHD clinics offering free H1N1 vaccinations are:

LOCATION	DATE	TIME
DCHD Immunization Center 5220 N. Pearl Street Available to General Public	Monday – Friday	8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
DCHD Administrative Building 900 University Boulevard, North Jacksonville, FL 32211	Monday – Friday	9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

H1N1 vaccine is also available at nearly 200 private health care providers across the county including: doctors’ offices, walk-in clinics, pharmacies, and other sites within the community. People who want to take advantage of vaccination opportunities should discuss any questions they have with their primary health care provider. An updated list of locations offering H1N1 vaccine to the public can be found here. Due to limited quantities, the public is advised to contact their chosen H1N1 vaccine point of distribution site for availability.

In addition, DCHD also urges residents to receive the seasonal flu vaccination to prevent illness. The seasonal flu vaccine is recommended for the elderly, young children and people with certain health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease since they are at high risk for complications from seasonal flu.

Health care providers who wish to receive vaccine in orders of 100 doses or more must register in the Florida Department of Health’s Florida SHOTS Registry at www.flshots.com or the Florida SHOTS Enrollment Desk at 1-877-888-7468 or flshots@doh.state.fl.us. Providers will receive vaccine and supplies directly from the central distributor at no charge.

For more information about the H1N1 or seasonal vaccines, call the Florida Department of Health’s flu hotline at 1-877-352-3581. Information is also available at www.myflusafety.com or www.dchd.net.

Non-safety H1N1 vaccine recalls:

The CDC announced the non-safety related recall of specific lots of pediatric H1N1 injectable vaccine. The vaccine, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur did not meet technical postproduction standards for efficacy. Florida received 270,000 doses of this type of vaccine, but only 40,000 doses are in the lots being recalled. DCHD officials verified possession of 523 doses of H1N1 vaccine affected by the CDC recall that has been removed from inventory and returned to the manufacturer. For more information on the non-safety vaccine recall visit: http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/syringes_qa.htm.

The manufacturer MedImmune has issued a voluntary, non-safety-related recall of specific lots of its H1N1 nasal spray vaccine due to the possibility of a slight decrease in potency. The slight decrease in potency should not affect how the vaccine works. People who received vaccine from the recalled 13 lots do not need to be revaccinated. Most of the doses are believed to have already been administered while fully potent and within specifications.

Dual County Health Department (DCHD) officials are working to verify possession and quantity of any specified lot numbers of the nasal spray vaccine affected by the recall. Once verified, recalled product will be removed from DCHD inventory.

For information about the recalled vaccine, see http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/sprayrecall_qa.htm.

Reported deaths:

Please note that following the lead of the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization, we will no longer be collecting numbers of confirmed H1N1 Swine Flu cases.

There are no additional laboratory confirmed H1N1 Swine Flu deaths reported in Duval County during this update period. A total of 13 laboratory confirmed H1N1 Swine Flu deaths have been reported in Duval County. While most cases of H1N1 Swine Flu are mild, there are exceptions. Pre-existing health conditions often play a role in how individuals react to the flu.

In-school Clinics:

At this time, DCHD is not conducting H1N1 vaccine during school hours.

DCHD and the State Surgeon General provide the following recommendations:

People with respiratory illness should stay home from work or school to avoid spreading infections, including influenza, to others in the community.

Avoid close contact with people who are coughing or otherwise appear ill.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth.
Wash hands frequently to lessen the spread of respiratory illness.

People experiencing cough, fever and fatigue, possibly along with diarrhea and vomiting, should contact their physician.

If you think you have influenza, please call your health care provider and discuss whether you need to be seen in their office, emergency department or stay home.

For more information visit www.myflusafety.com or call, 877-352-3581.