According to Maine Center for Disease Control director Dr. Dora Ann Mills, via her weekly update of H1N1-related news, the second doses for children ages nine and younger will be distributed in late December, and in some cases not until after school vacation in January.
The decision to postpone the second round can be tied to either lack of availability or lack of local resources to administer the doses, she said.
The United States Centers for Disease Control currently recommends two doses of H1N1 vaccine for children 9 years and younger be separated by four weeks; however, there is no maximum number of days between doses, Dr. Mills explained. In the meantime, some school nurses recommend parents contact their physicians to obtain the second dose of the vaccination privately or by attending other community-based clinics.
Dr. Mills reported the 11 Maine deaths attributed to the Swine flu to date were of adults with severe underlying conditions. As defined by the Maine CDC, underlying conditions can include pulmonary and heart diseases, as well as diabetes.
“H1N1 continues to be widespread, but there is some evidence it may be declining,” she said. “Even if it’s on decline, it will be around for a long time. We expect to circulate for months – if not years – to come and urge people to seek vaccine.”
Twenty-five people are currently hospitalized with the swine flu, down from 50 just weeks before.
“Virtually every public and private school has offered vaccines,” Mills said. “It is something that has not been done in 40 or 45 years. [It’s] a remarkable achievement and one every person in Maine should be proud of.”
Mills added, “It takes a village to vaccinate. The school effort vets that out.”
Maine is the first state in the nation to accomplish such widespread vaccination of school-age children, she said.
Approximately one of every 2.5 Mainers considered to be most at risk of contracting the flu – those over the age of 65, young adults to age 25, pregnant women and children from birth to age 18 – have received the vaccination. In all, one out of every five Mainers has been vaccinated, she said.
“I think we are seeing the results,” she said. That illness is on the decline is “not coincidental.”
Regardless of decreasing numbers of hospitalizations, Mills urged people to remain wary of contracting the flu, especially if they have underlying medical conditions, and she encouraged people to receive the vaccination when it becomes available to them.
Mills, who does not fit the high-risk profile, is waiting her turn for vaccination, she said.
The Maine CDC has offered a flu hotline, staffed with state personnel, for seven months. Those services have been outsourced to the United Way of Greater Portland. By dialing “2-1-1” during the hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week, Maine residents can obtain information about clinics, general symptoms and other referral services.
The state had earmarked $600,000 from the current general fund for providing information outreach and has since been allotted $718,418 in federal funds to replace the telephone bank staffed by the Maine CDC staff for the past seven months. The United Way staff has been training with Maine CDC staff and the outsourcing will allow CDC staff to return to other work, Mills said.
“We’re excited,” Dr. Mills said. These are trained professionals and our staff will be in close contact.”
Dr. Mills is currently working with a task force to set criteria for all vaccinations recommended for school-aged children. Instead of limiting the programs by type of vaccine, the Maine CDC is working on a list of criteria to apply to all vaccinations of school-age children. Currently the state offers an opt-out clause for being vaccinated against measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, pertussis, polio, and chicken pox. The task force will submit recommendations to the legislature in 2010.
“The good news is school absenteeism is down,” Mills said, praising the statewide public and private school vaccination effort for H1N1.
