HELENA, Mont. (AP) – State health officials are recommending local and tribal health departments expand access to the swine flu vaccine after announcing that 18 Montanans have died from complications related to the virus.
The Department of Public Health and Human Services said Dec. 11 the vaccine supply is sufficient enough to support health departments that want to vaccinate those outside the at-risk groups and local health departments should provide the vaccine to the general public.
The health department said earlier this week that nearly all the victims who died of swine flu-related complications were adults with pre-existing medical conditions.
Several county health departments have already announced they will make the vaccine available to the general public.
“The priority groups are still important,” said Anna Whiting Sorrell, director of the DPHHS. “And we continue to encourage those who are at risk to come in for their vaccine.”
People most at risk for complications are pregnant women or those with chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma or other conditions that reduce immunity to influenza. Other groups that are at higher risk of infection or to spread the virus to vulnerable populations are health care workers, people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years and caregivers of children ages 6 months and younger.
Health departments in Missoula, Yellowstone, Butte-Silver Bow, Flathead and Ravalli counties announced this week that they will make the vaccine available to the general public.
People may receive both the swine flu shot and the seasonal flu shot on the same day, said Flathead County Health Officer Joe Russell.
“This is an ideal time to be vaccinated for protection against influenza during the holidays, as it takes up to two weeks before influenza immunizations are fully effective.”
Whiting Sorrell said many of the deaths occurred before enough H1N1 vaccine was available.
“However, now the H1N1 vaccine supply has recently increased to the point that more of these high-risk persons can be vaccinated,” she said.
Montana recently received 39,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, bringing the total to nearly 264,000 doses received since October.
The agency also reported the death rate for H1N1 infection is higher among American Indians than Caucasians. In Montana, five American Indians have died, for a death rate of 7.6 per 100,000, compared with 1.5 per 100,000 for Caucasians.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used data from 12 states, not including Montana, and found the swine flu death rate for American Indians is four times higher than that for non-Indians in those states at 3.7 per 100,000, compared with 0.9 per 100,000.
The reasons for the difference are not known, but a likely contributing factor is the higher prevalence of diabetes and asthma among American Indians. A higher prevalence of those predisposing health conditions in middle-aged and older adults likely contributes to the difference in death rates among age groups in Montana, as well, the agency said.
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