2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1)

2009 Pandemic Influenza A (H1N1) Vaccine Update:

Currently, the Connecticut Department of Health expanded priority groups to include all persons who wish to get the vaccination. Priority groups still exist, but the increased availability of the vaccine has allowed for all who are interested to receive it.

Contact your healthcare provider for vaccine availability and appointment scheduling at their office. The Northeast District Department of Health is scheduling H1N1 vaccination clinics for the general population. Visit www.nddh.org for a schedule and call (860) 774-7350 for an appointment.

All children 9 years of age and younger need two doses of H1N1 vaccine for protection. Continuing vaccination efforts may provide protection in the event of another wave of H1N1 disease in the coming months.

Current Priority Groups:

• Pregnant women
• Caregivers of infants less than 6 months old
• Children and young adults aged 6 months to 24 years
• Persons aged 25-64 years who have medical conditions that put them at risk
• Health care/emergency medical service workers

Note that as of December 18, 2009, Day Kimball Healthcare's Restricted Visitation Policies Remain in Effect Until Further Notice. Click here for more information.

For Parents of Day Kimball Healthcare Pediatric Center Patients

Due to the increased volume of appointments to our pediatric practices in Putnam, Plainfield and Thompson, we have modified our patient scheduling as follows:

• Well child visits are only being scheduled from 8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
• Sick child visits are scheduled daily starting at 10:30 a.m.
• H1N1 influenza vaccines are available in limited supplies and are offered daily (based on availability) only to the following priority groups at this time:
  • Injectable vaccine for all children age 6 months through 6 years (this was recently expanded from age 4)
  • Injectable vaccine for children age 7 through 18 years with high-risk medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes, lung, heart, liver or kidney disease, or who are immune-compromised because of cancer treatment or HIV.
  • Nasal spray vaccine for all healthy children age 2 years through 18 years (this was recently expanded from age 4)
• If your child is included in one of the priority groups, please call your child’s pediatrician to schedule a vaccination appointment. Your child may also receive a seasonal flu vaccine at that time based upon availability.

We’d like to thank our medical and office staff at our Pediatric Centers for their continued hard work to treat their patients, especially with the increased volume of calls and visits that we are currently experiencing. We’d also like to share a few more facts about our actions to get our patients vaccinated as soon as possible:

• We’re scheduling vaccine-only appointments daily with dedicated nurses, allowing us to maximize the number of patients getting vaccines.
• We’re keeping a waiting list for pediatric patients who are not currently in the priority groups and will contact parents when priority groups are expanded and supplies are available. If you have already added your child to our waiting list, please do not call our offices as we will be calling you as soon as we can.
• We’re also calling our patients with chronic medical conditions who should get the vaccine but have not scheduled an appointment yet. If your child has one of the high-risk medical conditions listed above and you have not yet heard from us, please call to schedule an appointment for your child.

Answers to your Influenza and Vaccine Questions

Read the latest answers to your questions.

In order to answer your questions about the H1N1 influenza, we are asking patients to email general questions to us at flu@daykimball.org. Dr. Douglas Waite will post answers to questions on our website at daykimball.org. When available, we’ll also schedule a segment on WINY with updated influenza and vaccine information. For privacy and security reasons, please do not send personal or confidential information to this email address.

Please be advised that since we are only accepting general questions in this mailbox, we are unable to respond directly to your email.

Day Kimball Healthcare’s physician practices, as well as many private practices in the area, are receiving a very limited number of doses for the H1N1 influenza vaccine on a periodic basis. The initial doses are being offered only to those patients at highest risk for complications and hospitalization from the infection. Other population groups will be added when additional vaccine supplies are available. Therefore, please be assured that eventually everyone will be offered the vaccine after the priority groups are vaccinated.

Please note that the Day Kimball Hospital emergency room will NOT be giving the vaccine.

You may also call the CT DPH Flu Hotline at 1-800-830-9426, Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and for additional H1N1 information, including helpful tips for preventing and spreading the flu, please visit our website at www.daykimball.org and the CDC’s website at www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu.

Thank you for your patience and understanding; we are working very hard to keep our community healthy.

Helpful Tips to Prevent Getting and Spreading the Flu:

• Wash your hands often with soap and water. Alcohol-based hand sanitizers are also acceptable.
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, sleeve or elbow.
• Be mindful to monitor for illness behaviors (your own, your family and co-workers). Please do not send your children to school when they are sick. The same holds true for you – please do not go to work. This also applies to social activities such as sporting events.
• If you do get sick, stay home until you are fever free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication (Tylenol, Motrin, etc.).
• If you do get sick, call your doctor's office first before going in.
• Take Tylenol not aspirin. And, your doctor may prescribe antiviral drugs to treat flu symptoms.

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Click on the following links for information about the H1N1 vaccine:

Novel H1N1 Influenza Vaccine: Frequently Asked Questions
Vaccine Information Statement (2009 H1N1 Influenza Flu Shot)
Vaccine Information Statement (2009 H1N1 Influenza Flu Nasal Spray

Click on the following links for more helpful tips and checklists from the CT Department of Public Health and the CDC for you, your family and your workplace:

Preparing for Pandemic Influenza
Pandemic Flu: What You Can Do (English and Spanish)
Be Prepared for Pandemic Flu (English and Spanish)
Preparing for Pandemic Influenza: Be Aware, Be Prepared
Seasonal and Novel H1N1 Flu: A Guide for Parents
8 Ways You Can Stay Healthy at Work

For businesses, Pandemic Influenza: What Businesses Can Do is a great tool to help keep your business productive.

Other Great Resources to Stay Informed:

Check back to www.daykimball.org for updated information on Pandemic Influenza (novel H1N1 flu). In addition, we recommend the following websites:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Northeast District Department of Health (NDDH)
State of Connecticut Flu Watch