It’s time to roll up those sleeves and go to work with flu shots

Wednesday, Oct. 13, 1999 | 9:29 a.m.

With the onset of the flu season various health care providers are setting up immunization clinics throughout the valley and hoping to dispel the popular belief that the influenza vaccine causes people to be infected by the virus.

The idea that people will develop influenza directly from the vaccine is a myth, said Jan Guerra, a registered nurse with PacifiCare. It's also one of the main reasons people don't receive the vaccine.

The vaccine is a dead virus, Guerra added. Shortly after the vaccine some people may have body aches and develop a low-grade fever. This is the body building up resistance and it's more likely to occur to those receiving the vaccine for the first time.

Those who do become ill with influenza after receiving the vaccine may have been exposed to it prior, Guerra said. The vaccine takes two to three weeks for the antibody to provide protection.

Last year 20,000 people nationally died from influenza, Guerra said, adding that 80 percent of those deaths could have been prevented by immunization.

Larger influenza outbreaks can cause up to 70,000 deaths a year, she added. Last year nearly 130,000 people were hospitalized with influenza-related symptoms.

Influenza outbreaks normally begin in mid-December and run through March. This year the vaccine is immunizing against the three most prevalent viruses from last year, type A Beijing, type A Sydney and type B Yamanashi.

Viral infections severely infect the young and elderly and those whose immune systems are weakened due to pulmonary or cardiac problems, diabetes, HIV or AIDS, renal dysfunctions, blood disorders or those undergoing chemotherapy.

Between November and January hundreds of people crowd into hospital emergency rooms, a situation that could have been prevented by the vaccine or by seeing a primary care doctor when first experiencing the symptoms, said Dr. H. Bard Coats, chief medical officer for PacifiCare of Nevada.

"Twenty years ago getting the flu vaccine was unheard of," he added. "As things get more clear of the preventative value, the attitude is changing."

PacifiCare began its series of flu clinics Tuesday and is hoping to immunize 16,000 people this year.

The Clark County Health District began offering influenza vaccines Oct. 4. Saturday, 629 people were given flu shots just at the drive-through window at the Shadow Lane facility, Rosemary Tutrone, registered nurse with the health district, said. Hundreds more have been serviced inside the facility.

"We're serving between 200 to 350 on a daily basis," she said.

Those who should not get vaccines, Guerra said, include people with allergies to chicken eggs, feathers and dander; those hypersensitive to thimersol; allergic to gentamicin; those who have been diagnosed with Guillain-Barre's syndrome; those experiencing active neurological symptoms such as seizures; are pregnant in the first trimester or are nursing; and those with fever or infection.

The vaccine is 90 percent effective, Coats said. Other preventative measures include hand washing, bed rest and healthy eating habits.

A new drug this year, Relenza, is the first-ever nasal spray FDA approved to treat influenza, and is not all that promising, Coats said. The drug has to be used within 24 hours of infection to be effective and it only shortens the illness by about a day, he said.

Officials are saying it's too early to determine the severity of this year's strain.

"We're just getting ready and trying to prepare the general public for it," Tutrone said.