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OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, November 6, 2009 · 8 Unadjuvanted H1N1 vaccine available for pregnant women By Tim Foran METROLAND WEST MEDIA GROUP Pregnant women who have chosen to wait for the unadjuvanted form of the H1N1 vaccine can start getting it today. However, it will only be available at Halton Region's public vaccination clinic in Oakville or through some physicians' offices. "We just got the vaccine a couple of days ago (Tuesday) -- an allotment of 3,000 doses," said Dr. Bob Nosal, Halton Region's Medical Officer of Health. "Those pregnant women (at all stages of pregnancy) that prefer to get the unadjuvanted vaccine can get it at the clinic." Nosal estimated the 3,000 doses would be "more than enough" for Halton's pregnant women. Based on average annual baby deliveries in Halton, the Region is assuming 5,000 women in Halton are pregnant at this time, he explained. However, it is likely the majority of them have already received the adju- vanted form of the H1N1 vaccine that has been distributed over the past week-and-a-half, Nosal said. That's because public health officials had advised pregnant women in the latter half of pregnancy or those with underlying medical conditions to not wait for the unadjuvanted form of the vaccine. "Pregnant women are not more likely to get the H1N1 flu virus than anyone else," the Region said in a press release yesterday. "But when they do get it, they are about five times more likely to be hospitalized and about three times more likely to have serious complications. The risk of serious complications due to the H1N1 virus exists in all trimesters of pregnancy and increases as pregnancy advances." The adjuvant in Canada's H1N1 flu vaccine is an ingredient made of naturally occurring oil, water and vitamin E that boosts the body's immune response and increases the vaccine effectiveness, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The unadjuvanted vaccine doesn't contain this `booster' element. Nosal said the health department's decision to offer the unadjuvanted vaccine at the clinic in Oakville, rather than at all four clinics throughout the region, was for quality control purposes. He said the health department has to be careful not to mix up adjuvanted and unadjuvanted doses, and that is easier to manage by dedicating a portion of the Oakville clinic to administering the unadjuvanted vaccine. "It's very convenient for three of the communities (Oakville, Burlington and Milton) obviously," Nosal said of the clinic's location at the Halton Regional Centre at 1151 Bronte Road, just north of the QEW. However, he Dr. Bob Nosal acknowledged it might be a far drive for those living in Halton Hills, but he pointed out pregnant women can call their doctors to see if they are offering it. Nosal sent out a notice to doctors Wednesday advising them the unadjuvanted vaccine is available if they want to distribute it to their pregnant patients. So far, doctors have requested two to three hundred doses, he said. However, he didn't suspect the interest from doctors to be too high because of the form in which the vaccine is packaged. It comes in 10-dose vials, he WOOD N' FLOOR SANTA'S ELVES Anyone interested in volunteering for the Oakville Santa Claus Parade, please come to a meeting MEETING FOR ALL We Install all Kinds of Floors "Refinish Your Wood Floor Like New" Serving Oakville residents for over 20 years KAZ (905)338-1881 Cell (905) 334-2270 www.woodnfloor.ca Thursday, November 12th 6:30 pm registration, 7:00 pm start Sir John Colborne Seniors Recreation Centre 1565 Old Lakeshore Road (3rd Line & Lakeshore Rd. W.) W ADULT & STUDENT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED FOR: Traffic & Parade Marshalling, Costumed Characters & Escorts (students will receive volunteer hours) Parade takes place on Saturday November 21st at 9:00 am A TRADITION IN OAKVI N OAKVILLE THE IROQUOIS RIDGE HOLIDAY DGE e Holid MARKETPLACE PLA PLA E LA Wander through our 70 Vendors offering g ff you the best in f fashion, home d , o decor, furniture & gourmet foods. met food foo explained. Some doctors might only require one or two doses and the Region is requesting the vaccine not be wasted. The reception of the unadjuvanted vaccine doses come at a critical time for the Region's public health department, which is running out of the adjuvanted vaccine. "Certainly through Saturday, there should be no problem," said Nosal. "I would think most likely we'll be okay for Sunday, but no promises." He advised people to check the Region's website www.halton.ca or call 311 to see what the status of clinics will be next week. Following provincial direction, the Region is still only offering the H1N1 vaccine to the six high priority groups, which include people under age 65 with chronic medical conditions, pregnant women, healthy children from six months to under five years of age, some health-care workers, people living in remote and isolated settings, and caregivers and household contacts of people in a high priority group who can't be immunized such as infants under six months of age or those who may not respond to vaccines. Nosal estimated those priority groups to make up 15 to 20 per cent of Halton's 480,000 people. As of yesterday morning, the Region had immunized 32,000 people and given 20,500 vaccination doses to hospitals and doctors clinics, he said. The number of people being immunized at the public clinics is gradually dropping as are wait times. The Region distributed about 6,000 doses Monday, 5,500 Tuesday and 4,500 Wednesday, said Nosal. At the lunch hour yesterday, lineups at the clinics in Milton and Georgetown were virtually non-existent, with wait times in Oakville and Burlington ranging from 15 minutes to a half hour respectively, according to the Region's website. Since Halton hit its second peak of the H1N1 virus over the past week or two, eight to 10 people are now being admitted to local hospitals daily with influenza like symptoms, said Nosal. Many are kids or adults with underlying medical conditions, who are generally released after 48 hours. Nosal does not yet know how many of those patients have had confirmed cases of H1N1 as the testing for that takes a few days. As of Wednesday, 22 people in Halton since the start of October have been hospitalized with H1N1 symptoms, three of whom remain in hospital. One woman in her 70s, hospitalized with the H1N1 virus but with underlying conditions, died within the last week. With the recent spike in patients presenting influenza-like illnesses to hospitals, local hospitals have started to set up flu assessment centres at their locations when there's an overflow in the emergency rooms, said Nosal. The decision was made locally to set up these centres on site at the hospitals, though in a separate area from the emergency room, rather than in a standalone site in Halton, said Nosal. He said the centres are working. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7 th E BE EMBE EMBER EMBER h 10 am - 4 pm pm IROQUOIS RIDGE HIGH SCHOOL GH SC OOL H SCHOO CHO C O 1123 Glenashton Drive, Oakville e, O kv e e Admission Info. Line 905-845-0012 Have you gone to the U.S. for medical treatment? Have you or a loved one travelled to the United States for medical treatment, an MRI or any other reason? Was it because of long Ontario wait lists? Or because you could not get the type of care you needed here? Did OHIP pay? Or did you have to pay yourself? Tell us your story. We want to hear about it. E-mail: editor@oakvillebeaver.com. Please include an e-mail or phone number so we can talk to you. Information: www.oakvillesantaclausparade.ca