Vaccine plentiful in Chattanooga, spotty in region

Thanks to a regular stream of shipments, the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Health Department now has “several thousand” doses of H1N1 vaccine in both nasal spray and shot form, local health officials said.

Demand for the vaccine is still high, said Nettie Gerstle, communicable disease control program manager at the department. Almost 8,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine have been given in Chattanooga without any severe adverse reactions, she said.

“It’s just exactly like our seasonal vaccine, except it’s a different strain” of flu, she said.

Ms. Gerstle said she could not be any more specific about how many doses were available because the numbers are ever-changing.

About a month has passed since the first flu vaccines were distributed in the area, and children under age 10 are due for the recommended second doses of vaccine to give young children full protection.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children get the second vaccine 28 days after the first, but health officials said parents should not stress if they are unable to get their child’s second dose on time.

Four weeks is the minimum recommended amount of time between the doses and getting the second dose weeks later will still provide effective immunity, said Arleen Porcell-Pharr, public affairs specialist for the CDC.

In some counties, however, vaccine shipments have been spotty at best. Murray and Whitfield counties health departments have used up their first two vaccine shipments and are currently out, said Jennifer Moorer, district public information officer.

“We’re just waiting. We’ve been told we’re going to be getting more vaccine, but we don’t know when that will happen,” she said.

In the meantime, Ms. Moorer emphasized that, aside from basic hygiene practices such as handwashing, people also can boost their immune systems by getting lots of rest and exercise and eating right.

In Southeast Tennessee, supply of the nasal spray is so plentiful that health officials are opening up eligibility to those in the 2- to 49-year-old age range who are healthy and medically eligible for the nasal vaccine, said Beth Delaney, spokeswoman for the region that covers the 10-counties surrounding Hamilton County.

Vaccine in shot form is less plentiful, and supply varies by each health department, she said.

Vaccine is also fairly plentiful in Catoosa, Dade and Walker counties, but officials still do not have a large enough supply to hold large-scale flu clinics at schools and other public places, although they eventually hope to do so, said Logan Boss, spokesman for Northwest Georgia Public Health.

About 22 million in the United States have been sickened by H1N1 within the past half-year and 3,900 of them have died, according to the latest estimates from the CDC.

In Georgia, there have been 643 hospitalizations and 35 deaths from H1N1 since April, according to the state health department. In Tennessee, 46 have died from H1N1, including 11 children.

“The highest death rate has been in 15- to 24-year-old age range,” Ms. Delaney said. “It’s just a good idea to protect yourself by having the vaccine.”

In a typical flu season, about 36,000 people die of flu-related causes, most of them elderly, according to the CDC.