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
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Increasing
education and outreach to populations that are most at risk for
hospitalization and death
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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:
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In children under 18, asthma;
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In adults over 18, asthma, diabetes and pregnancy as well as all
cardio-pulmonary diseases;
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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.
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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
