Swine flu vaccination starts early

With influenza sweeping through Snohomish County at epidemic rates, plans have hurriedly been made to offer the swine flu vaccine on Saturday, a week earlier than originally planned.

Only pregnant women and young children between the ages of 6 months and 4 years will be eligible to be vaccinated this weekend. That’s because these groups are being hit hardest by the virus.

The vaccination sites will be in Stanwood, Edmonds, Monroe, Everett, Arlington, Marysville and Tulalip. The vaccination will be offered from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

It is free. Nearly 17,000 doses will be available on Saturday.

It will be offered to other groups at risk in coming weeks, as more vaccine becomes available.

Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District, said he and medical organizations throughout the county have been closely monitoring the rapid spread of swine flu, waiting for the vaccine shipments to arrive.

“We were on the edge of our seats, waiting for delivery,” he said. “When we understood we would have enough vaccine to do a clinic this weekend, that’s when we decided we can’t afford to wait.”

Twenty-five schools in the county now are reporting absenteeism rates of 10 percent or greater — months earlier than when absenteeism typically starts to rise because of flu.

Since early September, 22 people have been hospitalized for influenza in Snohomish County.

Providence Regional Medical Center Everett now has 17 patients hospitalized with the flu, said spokeswoman Cheri Russum.

“Looking at what we’re seeing, I would say that definitely is an epidemic,” Goldbaum said. “This isn’t a cause for panic, but is cause to remember it’s very real, sweeping through the community, and not behaving as usual flu does.”

Only the nasal spray vaccine — not shots — will be offered to healthy children ages 2 through 4 years. The shot version of the vaccine will be reserved for pregnant women, infants ages 6 months to 2 years, and children ages 6 months through 4 years who have asthma, cerebral palsy, congenital heart conditions or other chronic medical conditions.

The vaccine will be offered at other events now planned for Oct. 31, Nov. 2, 7, 14, and in early December, subject to supply.

Public health officials and medical groups huddled quickly on Thursday to make plans to offer the vaccine at nine sites on Saturday.

“The reason we’re doing this is flu is rampant in the community,” said Dr. Yuan-Po Tu, medical director of walk-in clinics for The Everett Clinic.

“The strategy is to vaccinate as much of the most vulnerable people as fast as possible with the limited vaccine we have.”

The number of patients coming to his organization’s walk-in clinics a week ago increased by 30 percent over the same time last year, he said.

“This week, it’s still going up.”

Nationally, 23 percent of deaths from swine flu are in young people age 25 or under. Pregnant women are four times more likely to get swine flu than the general population, Tu said.

Since April, when the worldwide outbreak began, 86 children in the U.S. who are 18 or under have died from the virus, he said. Thirty-nine of those deaths have occurred since August.

And the virus is showing no sign of slowing down. “It’s still accelerating,” Tu said.

H1N1 vaccination clinics

The vaccinations are limited to children 6 months to 4 years of age and pregnant women. These events will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Registration forms are available at www.snocoflu.com.

The county’s flu info line will operate from 8 a.m to 4 p.m. Saturday. Call 425-388-5088.

Arlington

Cascade Valley Smokey Point Clinic, 16410 Smokey Point Blvd., No. 200

Edmonds

Stevens Hospital, 21601 76th Ave. W.; enter from Highway 99 and 216th St. SW.

Everett