Local hospitals, worried that already ill patients could become sickened with swine flu, are considering limiting visitors.
Schools around Snohomish County are seeing absenteeism hitting nearly 20 percent.
Walk-in clinics and emergency rooms are being flooded with patients.
All are signals that swine flu is on the rise.
Fifteen people were in an Everett hospital Friday, Oct. 23, with what is presumed to be swine flu; six people were in the critical care unit, three of them on ventilators.
Clinics are aiming to help the most vulnerable by offering 17,000 doses of vaccine to those most at risk of serious illness and death from the virus: pregnant women and children between 6 months and 4 years of age.
The vaccination, which is free, will be offered at nine sites throughout the county. Children 10 and under will need two doses of the vaccine, about a month apart, for full immunity.
“We really want to urge all pregnant women to get the vaccine,” said Dr. Gary Goldbaum, health officer for the Snohomish Health District. “We want them to be protected.”
On Oct. 23, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said pregnant women are six times more likely to die from swine flu, also known as the H1N1 virus.
While some parents are hesitant to be vaccinated themselves, or have their children vaccinated with a “new” vaccine, both local and federal health officials emphasized that the vaccine is made the same way and by the same manufacturers as seasonal flu vaccine.
Federal officials said they continue to closely monitor for reported side effects from the vaccine.
Local health officials and medical groups scrambled Thursday, Oct. 22, to organize Firday’s swine flu vaccination clinics, with the events moved up a week earlier than originally planned.
The 17,000 doses available were just a fraction of the estimated 200,000 doses that will be needed in Snohomish County to vaccinate others at high risk of becoming seriously ill from influenza. They include: children and young adults from 5 to 24 years old, those between the ages of 25 and 64 years old with chronic health conditions, teachers, and child-care workers.
It could be the end of November or early December before enough vaccine arrives to provide the immunization to these groups, Goldbaum said.
And for people not in these high-risk groups, the wait could be until late December or even early January, he said.
“This is very similar to waiting for Christmas,” said Dr. Yuan-Po Tu, medical director for walk-in clinics at The Everett Clinic. “Right now, everyone is champing at the bit. We understand their concern. We are doing the best we can.”
Production problems have caused the vaccine to be produced and delivered far slower than once hoped. For example, the Snohomish Health District’s initial goal was having 100,000 people vaccinated by Thanksgiving.
Meanwhile, four schools reported absenteeism rates at or near 20 percent this week, with the highest rate of absences recorded at Discovery Middle School in Mukilteo, according daily reports sent to the health district.
Hospitals in Snohomish County are considering limiting visitor access and screening people as they walk in for fever and other signs of influenza.
Providence Regional Medical Center Everett, which has the 15 hospitalized patients with swine flu, began considering restrictions several weeks ago, said spokeswoman Teresa Wenta.
The Snohomish Health District may soon provide guidelines so policies would be similar at hospitals throughout the county.
On Oct. 19, the hospital’s emergency room set a record, treating 387 patients, many with flu-like symptoms.
Some of the steps Providence is considering are limiting which entryways will be open to the public and asking people as they enter if they have influenza symptoms, such as fever, cough, runny nose or sore throat.
Incoming patients who have any of those symptoms may be required to wear a mask, Wenta said.
Family and visitors who have the symptoms could be asked to leave and come back when they’re well.
Those who are symptom-free may be given a sticker with the date on it to indicate they have no flu-like symptoms.
Children under 12 may need to be restricted from Providence because of patient safety issues, said spokeswoman Cheri Russum.
“Patient safety trumps everything else,” she said.
No date has yet been set for when these or similar guidelines might be implemented, she added.
Sharon Salyer writes for the Herald.
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