Amanda Liles
For The Post
Laura Service
For The Post
---
The Ohio Department of Health is helping Athens County medical professionals prepare for a possible H1N1 outbreak by increasing the amount of grant money the local city-county health department will receive this year.
The local department, which typically receives $104,517 a year from the department for public emergency preparedness, will receive an additional $112,842 this year to address H1N1 concerns.
Flu season began much earlier than usual, and most cases are H1N1, said Dr. Beth Bell, associate director for science at the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease.
Right now we're getting ready for the first round of vaccinations
said Jeremy Phillips, the Athens City-County Health Department's emergency response coordinator.
The FDA announced approval of four vaccines against the H1N1 influenza virus early last week, according to a news release.
Department officials plan to vaccinate all students and staff in all Athens County schools in the upcoming month. To do so, the department will need to hire additional nurses, Phillips said.
Students K-12 are the primary goal at this stage because they are among the most susceptible Phillips said. We're planning for a limited receipt of the vaccine at first and we're starting with the people the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has directed us to target.
People aged 18 to 24 are still part of the top priority group, and as we receive more of the vaccine we will work with the university to make it available to college students.
Hudson Health Center should receive a shipment of H1N1 vaccines in October said David Hopka
assistant vice president for Safety and Risk Management. The day of arrival and the number of doses are still unknown.
Every OU student should be vaccinated eventually
he said. But that is dependent on supply.
As the vaccine becomes more available
the city-county health department will give shots to pregnant women and children under four years of age.
People with diabetes
heart disease and asthma are also eligible to receive early vaccinations
according to the CDC. Those groups are also a priority for antiviral drugs.
Antiviral drugs decrease the ability of flu viruses to reproduce and are second to a vaccine in the prevention and treatment of the flu.
For college students
one dose of the vaccine will be enough to build up an adequate immunity to the H1N1 virus
said Kathleen Sebelius
the U.S. secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. It will take about 10 days for an immune response.
The vaccine is free
