McHenry Co. planning for flu's worst

McHenry County health authorities say they are hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst, when it comes to the expected return of the H1N1 flu virus this fall.

Appearing before the county board Tuesday, health officials said they are working with dozens of schools along with doctors' offices, hospitals and clinics to provide an anticipated two-shot immunization later this year for the bug best known as the swine flu.

The immunization - still undergoing clinical trials - could soften the blow of a flu virus that could infect 40 percent of Americans, hospitalize up to 2 million and kill as many as 90,000, a federal panel recently warned.

"This isn't the flu that we're used to," said Patrick McNulty, administrator for the McHenry County Department of Health. "We won't know how bad it is until we're in the middle of it."

The county plans to follow a tiered approach to delivering immunizations, starting with those considered most at risk: pregnant women, caregivers for infants younger than 6 months old, health care workers, people with immune system deficiencies and residents 6 months to 24 years old.

That group, county epidemiologist Kristen Harrison said, accounts for about 186,375 people in McHenry County, roughly 59 percent of the population.

Next up would be residents 25 to 64 years old, followed by those 65 and older.

Karen Ciesielczyk, health promotion coordinator for the health department, dispelled notions that immunizations will be required.

"We're certainly going to encourage it, but this is not a mandatory campaign in any shape or form," she said.

Officials are cautiously optimistic about the plan, saying they've had success, albeit on a smaller scale. with a similar program every year for the regular flu.

"Our system works pretty well for 4,000 people," Ciesielczyk said. "Will it work for (180,000)? That's something we're investigating."

Besides making immunizations available, officials said they are devising plans to educate the public about the virus and how to avoid it, tracking its spread through the county and coordinating a medical response.

The county already has received about $170,000 in federal grants for their planning efforts and expects to receive more later this year for implementation of the plan, McNulty said.

Despite all the planning, officials say it may be weeks before they learn how effective the immunization will be, how many shots will be available and when they will be delivered.

"This is a very dynamic and fluid situation," Ciesielczyk said. "We are constantly trying to keep up, but there are so many unanswered questions."