PORT ANGELES — Don’t expect last year’s flu shot to continue to keep you healthy through this winter, Olympic Medical Center’s chief medical officer told hospital commissioners Wednesday.
This year’s influenza vaccine is aimed at the three known circulating viruses: H1N1, H3N2 and a type B strain.
The vaccine is identical to the flu shots that were administered last year, but “even though it was the same, don’t depend on that for your immunity this year,” said Dr. Scott Kennedy, OMC’s chief medical officer, at the bimonthly board meeting at the hospital.
“There are studies that show immunity can wane over the year.
“It is OK, and it’s recommended, to get your flu immunization early before the season starts.
“There’s confidence that it will last through the season for you, so we’ve got that assurance,” Kennedy added.
“But what we don’t have is the assurance that last year’s vaccine will maintain the immunity that we may need to protect us this year.”
Unlike the H1N1 pandemic of 2009, there is no shortage of supply of the 2011-2012 influenza vaccine.
Shots are available at clinics and pharmacies throughout the North Olympic Peninsula, Kennedy said.
The national strategy to fight influenza is universal immunization for everyone older than 6 months who doesn’t have an allergic reaction to the shot, Kennedy said.
“Vaccination is our most effective strategy,” he added.
Health workers
OMC requires its health care workers to be immunized or to wear a mask around patients after Clallam and Jefferson County Public Health Officer Dr. Tom Locke signals the official start of flu season, which usually occurs in January or February.
The “choice program” helped OMC achieve a 90.6 percent immunization rate last year.
This compares to a state rate of 86 percent and a national average of 60 percent to 70 percent, Kennedy said.
OMC’s goal for the 2011-2012 flu season is a 95 percent immunization rate.
“There’s a growing sense that we have an ethical duty from a safety standpoint to do whatever we can to protect our patients from influenza,” Kennedy said.
The flu can spread quickly through a hospital by workers who don’t realize they’re infected because they have no symptoms.
“That’s why I need to be immunized,” Kennedy said.
“That’s why I need to use good hand hygiene, and ensure that the institution is using good respiratory hygiene.
“If anyone has come in with a cough, they need to wear a mask.
“Everyone needs to wash their hands carefully.”
A combination of flu shots and common-sense prevention will give health care workers “a good chance of hitting the influenza virus right on the nose,” Kennedy said.
OMC reconceived its influenza committee to get an early jump on the flu season.
“We want to be immunized ahead of the game,” Kennedy said.
“We don’t want to wait until the last minute because we don’t know when flu season will actually arrive.”
Influenza kills an average of 36,000 Americans per year and puts another 200,000 in the hospital.
In 2009, the H1N1 pandemic led to 274,000 hospitalizations and 12,740 deaths in the U.S., Kennedy said.
“Fortunately, that virus in its intensity turned out to be a little milder than what we feared, but it was also attacking different age groups,” Kennedy said.
People older than 50, particularly those older than 65, seemed to be protected from the H1N1 strain because of past exposures.
However, Kennedy cited a “very concerning” statistic: No other risk factors were found in about a third of U.S. children who died from complications of H1N1.
“We have reason to be concerned about influenza,” he said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.