County Health Officials To Report On Swine Flu Vaccine

RIVERSIDE – Riverside County health officials say the Swine Flu vaccine is on its way. The first batches of vaccine sprays are expected later this week.

Doctors and nurses will be among the first to get it. All county workers are recommended to get the swine flu vaccine.

Head of Riverside County’s Public Health Department, Dr. Eric Frykman, told County Supervisors Tuesday, “The long awaited vaccine should be arriving in Riverside County sometime later this week, probably going to be the nasal spray, we’re going to be receiving the injectable version next week we believe, or perhaps later than that.”

But who should get the vaccine and who shouldn’t? David Brinkman with the Desert AIDS Project has been telling HIV patients to get the vaccine soon, but with caution.

“There’s two types of treatments for it. There’s the nasal and there’s the injection. For those with HIV, it’s important they get the injectable version versus the nasal.”

The same medical advice goes for people who are undergoing cancer treatment including chemotherapy.

Brinkman adds, “The injectable does not have a live virus and the nasal actually has the live virus. In the small chance that it would turn into H1N1, we don’t want to expose anybody with HIV to that, so that’s why the injectable is the right one.”

Federal health officials say the nasal spray is more convenient and just as effective as the flu shot.

People who are allergic to eggs should not get the vaccine. Chicken eggs are used to manufacture both the nasal spray and the injectable.

Either way, Riverside County doctors will begin to push their vaccination campaign later this week. However, county officials say there’s a major problem.

Dr. Frykman explained to the Supervisors, “Now, we have a positive measure we can take to get people to have immunity to start preventing this.”

Supervisor Bob Buster asked Dr. Frykman, “You have all the funds and staffing you need to do this?”

Dr. Frykman answered, “Absolutely not.”

Riverside County officials say they have received $2.5 million from the CDC for a vaccination campaign, but it may not be enough. Because when all is said and done, they only expect between 20 to 30 percent of the local population to actually line up and get a vaccine.

County health officials add that the Swine Flu has killed seven people in Riverside County.

It’s estimated the Swine Flu could kill up to 90,000 people nationwide this year. That’s three times more than the regular seasonal flu.

Officialssay people should take the following precautions to prevent swine flu transmission:

— Frequent hand-washing;– covering the nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing;– properly disposing of used tissues.

Anyone with questions or concerns can call the California Department of Public Health’s Influenza Hotline at (888) 865-0564.