We received about 100 doses of the Swine Flu vaccine from the state last week, and they’re all spoken for.  It’s a start, but it’s not enough!  We are following the CDC’s instructions to give the vaccine to our high-risk patients first (those with cerebral palsy, persistent asthma, diabetes etc.).  We have maintained a list of these patients in our office, and we have called most of these patients and scheduled them for the vaccine.  (If you were expecting a call but you didn’t hear from us, please speak with the nurses.)

The vaccine we have received is a shot.  It’s the type “with preservative.”  If your child is able to receive the Swine Flu vaccine from another source, such as your school, I strongly encourage you to do so!  The only exception is if the school’s vaccine is the nasal “Flu-Mist” type, which is a live virus, which would be contra-indicated for kids with chronic conditions such as persistent asthma.

So, regrettably, we still can’t schedule flu shots for kids not on the high-risk list.  I still expect to receive further shipments of H1N1 vaccine – and I expect that we’ll be able to vaccinate all our patients by the end of the flu season!  I’ll post a note on the blog here, when we receive enough to vaccinate everybody.

–  David M. Epstein, MD