Principal

Pan Flu Vaccine Allocation Plan

PANDEMIC INFLUENZA AND THE U.S. PLAN FOR ALLOCATING LIMITED AMOUNTS

OF PANDEMIC VACCINE

Pandemic (from the Greek, meaning “of all of the people”) Influenza is typically a novel human flu that causes a worldwide outbreak of serious illness and death. Because there is little natural immunity, the disease can easily spread from person to person, one of the key characteristics that defines a pandemic.
 

There have been at least 10 recorded pandemics during the past 300 years. Three of these occurred during the 20th century.

  • The 1918-1919 “Spanish Flu” was the most devastating flu pandemic in recent history. 
  • The 1957-1958 “Asian Flu” was first identified in China and killed approximately 1 million people worldwide, including 68,000 Americans.
  • The 1968-1969 “Hong Kong” flu was a relatively mild pandemic.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and experts around the world agree that it is not a question of IF another pandemic will occur, but WHEN it will occur, and how severe it will be.

When a pandemic emerges vaccination will be one of several tools that can be used to fight the spread of influenza. However, it could take six months or longer before a new vaccine could be created and mass produced. It will then be distributed around the world and across the United States, but for a period of time the supply will not be adequate to vaccinate everyone.

Decisions will have to be made about who gets the vaccine first. Because these decisions should not be made in the midst of a crisis the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services has issued the following Draft Guidance on Allocating and Targeting Pandemic Influenza Vaccine. 

San Juan Basin Health Dept., along with our local medical community, and other emergency preparedness and response partners, has been engaged in ongoing pandemic preparedness activities. We would like to involve the general public in this process, so we invite you to review the Draft Guidance. Please let us know your thoughts, questions, and concerns. Thank you for your participation! You can call us at 247-5702, ext. 272 or email us.

Another worthwhile read is the report  “Pandemic Influenza:Warning, Children At-Risk".  The American Academy of Pediatrics contributed to this and even though its focus is children it does a very good job of identifying many of the challenges of pandemic planning and response.