BAPMG News

Important Flu Update Nov 27, 2009

Sunday, 29 November 2009 22:46

 Influenza activity has decreased over the last two weeks.  We are still seeing several cases per day however.  The illness remains mild and self limited.  H1N1 continues to be dominant strain of Influenza at this time.  Our first “open” flu clinic at the San Carlos facility on November 21 was a success and we will be offering a second open clinic in December.  (see below)

H1N1 Vaccine

On November 25 we received information from the health department that we will receive a new shipment of H1N1 vaccines in the next week including:

    •   H1N1 injectable preservative free vaccine for use in children from 6 months to 36

        months of age.

    •   H1N1 Live Attenuated Nasal Mist vaccine for use in children from 2-10 years of age.

    •   H1N1 Vaccine Injectable Preservative Containing for use in children 6 months and

        above.

While we have made a significant dent in our wait lists, we still have a substantial amount of children needing the first dose of the vaccine.  As with our previous shipment we would like to deploy this vaccine shipment as quickly as possible.  To do so we are employing three strategies:

A) We are actively calling and scheduling patients from our wait lists.

B) We will be offering the above vaccines where appropriate to patients who are visiting the office for well child checks.

C) We will hold a second special walk in flu clinic at our San Carlos Office:

On Saturday December 12 we will hold an open H1N1 flu vaccine clinic at the San Carlos Office Site.  Hours 9:00 am to 12:00pm  (absolutely no sign in after 12pm)

In order to vaccinate as many children as possible the following procedures will be used:

•   Only Bay Area Pediatrics patients will be served.

•   This will be a “first come first served” clinic.

•   There will be a $15 administration fee payable by cash or check. 

     No credit or debit cards will be processed.

•   Insurance will not be billed.

•   Only H1N1 vaccine will be offered.

•   Because of ongoing supply problems, we will only have a limited amount o

    preservative free and nasal mist vaccine at this clinic

•   Children must be in good health and fever free.

•   There will be no doctor consultation or doctor visits available during this clinic

•   Patients must be in Tier 1 Risk group which includes:

        •    Infants and children aged 6 mos. through 9 years of age.

        •    Any infant or child or adolescent over the age of 6 months who has asthma,

              immunodeficiency, heart disease, neuromuscular disease or diabetes.

        •    Any parent or child (over the age of 6 months) living with an infant under the

             age of six months.

By using these procedures we hope to be able to vaccinate two to three times as many patients as we would be able to at a “by appointment” clinic.  During our first clinic almost all patients arrived in the first hour.  Those who arrived early had longer wait times than those who arrived after 10am.

Seasonal Flu Update:

We are continuing to offer Seasonal flu vaccine on a by appointment basis.  This preparation is for children over the age of three.   We are actively calling patients in from our wait list for that vaccine.  This vaccination process is less time sensitive than the H1N1 vaccination process because the Seasonal Flu Strains are not expected to be active until January or later.  We expect to be able to accommodate all wait list patients before January 1, 2010