Get vaccine to those who need it most
The statistics are not good. As reported in Sunday's Daily Herald, a Harvard University poll found two-thirds of America ns who tried to get the H1N1 flu vaccine were unsuccessful.
Just last week in Illinois, 12 people died from H1N1, also known as swine flu. That brings the total to 48. And there were 368 hospitalizations for a total of 1,371. That's a jump of 37 percent.
But the people who are most at risk of getting the flu virus haven't been able to get the vaccine. That needs to change, and fast.
"We understand people are frustrated, and we share that frustration," said Illinois Department of Health spokeswoman Kelly Jakubek. "We're doing the best we can with what we have."
Unfortunately, the state does not have enough vaccinations. But it also seems the distribution of what is available could be better handled. Until the production delays are overcome and distribution of the vaccine corrected, we renew our call that those who are not part of the groups that are most at risk wait to get inoculated.
Daily Herald staff writer Robert McCoppin reported Sunday that medical workers are having trouble getting protection from H1N1. And that means those who are treating people with the flu virus are likely to get it themselves.
In Naperville, for example, 12 members of a pediatrician's staff came down with the flu even before they ever had a chance to get the vaccine. They since have been vaccinated. Clinics not associated with a hospital also have had trouble getting it for workers.
Many people with chronic medical conditions that put them at risk also are having trouble getting the vaccine. McCoppin talked to one Vernon Hills woman with several medical conditions who is traveling to Springfield today to get it because her family there had no trouble getting the vaccine. If that's true, the state needs to figure out a better way to distribute what it has.
"Why isn't someone giving these shots to doctors to give them to high-risk patients?" the Vernon Hills woman asked. "This seems absolutely absurd."
On the positive side, DuPage County continues to emphasize the Centers for Disease Control guidelines to get the H1N1 vaccine to the high-risk people first: pregnant woman, caregivers of children under age 6 months, health care and emergency workers, people ages 6 months to 24 years and people ages 25 to 64 with chronic health problems.
DuPage set up special vaccinations for ailing children and it supplied vaccine to obstetricians at DuPage Medical Group to give to pregnant woman. Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove also offered the vaccine to pregnant woman whose doctors are affiliated with the hospital on Friday and will do so again this week.
We think these targeted inoculations, rather than mass clinics that sometimes results in huge lines and people outside high-risk groups getting the vaccine, is the way to go. We urge all suburban counties to distribute the limited supply they have in this manner.