Stamford starts early campaign against flu :Devon Lash
By: Health Insurance
Submitted: 2009-09-26 12:20:59 | Word Count: 719
The annual Fight the Flu campaign kicked off Wednesday morning with a bang and a grimace as a long line of city workers, first responders and residents rolled up their sleeves for their seasonal flu shots.
"Twenty-five years ago, I got the flu and ever since, I have never missed a flu shot," said Mayor Dannel Malloy, who, despite admitted squeamishness, disappeared behind a curtain in the Stamford Government Center lobby for his ceremonial dose.
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"It's the idea that you can prevent it with one shot," he said.
The crowd was a little larger this year, said Lynn Galgano, a city public health nurse, as she distributed the quick jabs.
"It's probably because of the swine flu," she said, bandaging a cheerful patient. "That's the last thing you need -- the regular flu and then the swine flu."
The Fight the Flu campaign, the 11th annual partnership between the city and Stamford Hospital to get the public vaccinated against the seasonal flu, won't prevent the H1N1, or swine flu, strain, doctors said.
It will reduce the likelihood of contracting the more virulent seasonal flu, said Dr. Michael Parry, Stamford Hospital's director of infectious diseases and microbiology.
Of course, Parry added, the new wrinkle this year -- and the reason for the early flu campaign -- is swine flu.
"We're trying to get as many people vaccinated as we can," Parry said.
The city will receive a limited supply of vaccine doses of the
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H1N1 virus in three to four weeks for those the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has deemed high risk -- pregnant women, caretakers of infants younger than 6 months, health care workers, children from 6 months to 4 years old and children from 5 to 18 years old with medical conditions, said Dr. Johnnie Lee, the city director of health.
The state Department of Public Health expects to see an initial shipment of 530,000 doses in mid-October, said state spokeswoman Diana Lejardi.
Municipalities do not know how much of the initial shipment they will receive, Lee said.
To distribute the H1N1 vaccine, public health workers, the city's medical reserve corps and hospital personnel are planning to set up vaccine clinics at the Tully Health Center, the Palace Theater, the Yerwood Center and the Stamford campus of the University of Connecticut.
One dose will provide good protection against the H1N1 virus for adults; children under 10 should get two separate doses, Parry said.
Despite the hype surrounding H1N1, the focus Tuesday was on the seasonal flu.
About 36,000 people die and more than 200,000 people are hospitalized because of influenza complications, according to the CDC.
The city received 1,800 doses of the seasonal vaccine, Lee said. The hospital has received 11,000 doses, Parry said.
Last year, the hospital required its employees to receive the vaccine or sign a waiver refusing it; if not, he or she won't receive their annual pay raise, Parry said. About 65 percent of the hospital workers receive the seasonal vaccine, but this year the hospital wants to see at least 75 percent of employees get vaccinated, he added.
For as long as vaccine is available, the Fight the Flu campaign will continue at the Tully Health Center from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays; 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and 8 a.m. to noon on Saturdays.
It will be available in the Government Center Lobby from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. Tuesdays, and 12 to 2 p.m. Thursdays. The vaccine costs $30, which may be reimbursable from health insurance. The vaccine is free for those who use Medicare as their primary coverage.
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