Due to delays in distribution of the H1N1 vaccine, local communities and school districts will begin inoculating only those in the highest risk groups when the first clinics begin as soon as today.
Massachusetts has 3.4 million residents who fall into one of the target groups for H1N1 vaccine because of age, health status or because they could transmit the virus to infants younger than 6 months of age or to vulnerable patients.
In an update released yesterday, the state Department of Public Health said that close to 875,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine will have been distributed to health care providers throughout Massachusetts by the end of the week, or about 25 percent of the 3.5 million doses expected.
The vaccines arrive as absentee rates at local schools begin to wane after spiking in recent weeks.
But with illness rates still high, for now, the community you live in may determine your chances of getting your child or yourself protected from the pandemic flu strain.
Pentucket schools will hold a clinic today at each elementary school in grades prekindergarten through sixth for students whose parents filled out a request form for inoculation, with only high-risk middle and high school students receiving the vaccine, according to a letter sent home from Superintendent Paul Livingston. Livingston did not return phone calls yesterday seeking further details.
Clinics will be held beginning next week for residents in Amesbury, Salisbury and Newburyport for the most vulnerable demographics, particularly young children, pregnant women, caregivers of infants and health care workers with direct patient contact. Residents of any of the three communities can attend the clinics, regardless of in which tows it's being held.
The clinics, to be held in each of the three towns on Wednesday, will be only for pregnant women and immune-compromised children between the ages of 6 months and 9 years old — those with lung, kidney, heart, liver, nerve, or blood disease — and primary caregivers to infants 6 months old or younger.
A second clinic will be held on Nov. 30 for healthy children ages 2 to 9 years old. Depending on what is left, the towns will look at implementing school clinics.
According to Joan Schleeweis-Connor, the Amesbury School District's nurse leader, the hope is to give the vaccine to the high school during school hours, and grades prekindergarten through eight will be able to receive it off hours.
By charting the influenza rates at the different schools with the help of parents, Schleeweis-Connor said the district might target vaccines to a school showing a higher rate of illness.
"We thought that we would try to reach the people at high-risk rates first and take it to the school that has been hit the hardest," she said.
Triton Regional School District Superintendent Sandra Halloran said she reached out three weeks ago to Boards of Health in that district's three towns — Newbury, Rowley and Salisbury — to begin planning a collaborative clinic for schools, but none has been planned so far.
The vaccines arrive as the number of flu-related illnesses being reported in schools is beginning to wane.
National statistics from the federal Centers for Disease Control show that numbers of reported influenza-like illness started to inch down in the final week of October after four straight weeks of marked increases. Those numbers are reflected at local schools.
Many districts reported absentee rates as high as 20 percent in recent weeks. But school nurses in area schools say they had higher numbers of flu-related sicknesses at the end of October.
According to Newburyport's nurse leader, Beverly Heinze-Lacey, the consensus from the nurses is that things have not been quite as busy as last week, but they are seeing the types of colds and germs that are typical to the season, so there is an overall increase.
Halloran said the same is being seen in their schools.
"We've been keeping track of absentee rates on a daily basis to see what it looks like; we have had better attendance rates just from the beginning of this week toward the end of this week," said Superintendent Sandra Halloran.
In Amesbury, absentee rates also appear to be down, but earlier this week were still more than 12 percent, Schleeweis-Connor said.
At the state level, officials are preaching patience.
In a YouTube video posted on the state DPH Web site three weeks ago, Commissioner John Auerbach asked for patience, as most residents won't have access to the vaccine until next month.
"As vaccine supplies become more widely available, you'll begin to see public H1N1 vaccination clinics in your community — most likely in December," he said. "However, these have yet to be scheduled because we want to wait until we are assured that there will be enough available vaccine before doing so."
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Flu Clinics
The following clinics have been scheduled in Amesbury, Newburyport and Salisbury for high-risk groups, including pregnant women and immune-compromised children between the ages of 6 months and 9 years old (those with lung, kidney, heart, liver, nerves, or blood disease) and primary caregivers to infants 6 months old or younger.
The injectable vaccine will be administered at these clinics:
Wednesday, Nov. 18
9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Newburyport Emergency Operations Center, 59 Low St., Newburyport
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Amesbury Town Hall, 62 Friend St., Amesbury
5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Salisbury Fire Station, 37 Lafayette Road, Salisbury
The second round of H1N1 clinics will be for healthy children ages 2 years old to 9 years old. The Flu Mist nasal application will be administered at these clinics:
Monday, Nov. 30
9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Newburyport Emergency Operations Center, 59 Low St., Newburyport
12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., Amesbury Town Hall, 62 Friend St., Amesbury
5 p.m. to 7 p.m., Salisbury Fire Station, 37 Lafayette Road, Salisbury
Note: Residents of the three communities may attend any of the available clinics; they do not need to be a resident of the specific community hosting the clinic. However, all vaccines will be given by reservation only; walk-ins will not receive vaccine. Reservations for the clinic should be made by calling the Newburyport Health Department, 978-465-8562. Recipients will be pre-screened to ensure the very limited amount of vaccine is going the specific target population.
