[kcimt_mag] FW: Please send to MAG
- From: "Monte Keady" <MKeady@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <kcimt_mag@xxxxxxxxxxxxx >
- Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:11:34 -0800
Monte B Keady
Division Chief - Training/EMS
Klamath County Fire District No. 1
143 N Broad Street,
Klamath Falls OR 97601
541.885.2059 ext.109
From: Melissa Klegseth [mailto:mklegseth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]
Sent: Monday, November 16, 2009 10:59 AM
To: Monte Keady
Subject: Please send to MAG
Importance: High
Medical Advisory Group Members,
The following information was put out by Oregon Public Health on the
13th of November. In addition on Saturday the Herald and News printed
the attached article.
What do you recommend we communicate to the medial providers in the
community that are giving H1N1 vaccinations?
Nov 13 2009: Oregon Public Health focuses H1N1 influenza vaccine
outreach
Increasing education and outreach to populations that are most at risk
for hospitalization and death
As the H1N1 influenza outbreak continues in Oregon, the latest local and
national data about how the virus affects certain populations is
emerging. As a result - and because of the limited amount of vaccine -
over the next few weeks the Oregon Public Health Division and county
public health departments and tribes will target vaccination education
and outreach on the populations that are most at risk for
hospitalization and death.
Since Sept. 1, 2009, 1,044 people have been hospitalized in Oregon with
influenza-like illness; 34 people have died. In Oregon, five children
have died from influenza, four of the children had special needs - two
with cerebral palsy. Two Oregon children died outside the hospital.
"Children with special needs must get vaccinated; if they get sick,
parents should seek care early," says Mel Kohn, M.D., M.P.H., Oregon
public health director.
National statistics show that over 90 percent of people hospitalized
with H1N1 are within the priority group: pregnant women, children 5 and
under, and people aged 5 - 64 with underlying health conditions, such as
asthma, diabetes and cardio-pulmonary disease.
"People with underlying health conditions are much more likely to have a
severe case of H1N1 influenza that could require hospitalization," says
Kohn. "We are asking this high-risk group to please make sure and get
vaccinated early in order to protect themselves."
Oregon has so far received about 25 percent of the vaccine allocation
necessary to reach all people in the targeted population for vaccine,
and more vaccine is coming every day.
"Until we have enough vaccine, getting it to the most vulnerable people
is a constant balancing act," says Kathleen O'Leary, Washington County
Public Health administrator and chair of the Conference of Local Health
Officials.
Public health officials are encouraging vaccine providers to reach out
to the populations that are at the highest risk for complications from
H1N1 flu, including people of all ages with heart and lung diseases and
children with neurodevelopmental diseases. These general classes are
emerging as the most important risk factors both nationally and in
Oregon. "That's why we are emphasizing today the importance of ensuring
that people with chronic conditions get vaccinated," says Kohn.
In Oregon, some of the more common underlying health conditions that
make people most at risk for hospitalization and death from H1N1 flu
are:
* In children under 18, asthma;
* In adults over 18, asthma, diabetes and pregnancy as well as
all cardio-pulmonary diseases;
* Of all the people hospitalized with influenza in the tri-county
area (Multnomah, Clackamas and Washington counties) since Sept. 1, 2009,
33 percent have asthma as an underlying condition.
* Many people who have been hospitalized with H1N1 suffer from
multiple underlying health conditions.
Melissa Klegseth
Health Educator
Klamath County Health Department
403 Pine Street
Klamath Falls, OR 97601
(541)882-8846 ext. 3508
(541)885-3638 (fax)
mklegseth@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Other related posts:
