A small amount of non-adjuvanted vaccine will be available in Fraser Health beginning Tuesday November 10th. This will be provided only to pregnant women and distributed through maternity clinics, public immunization clinics and through physicians' offices that see obstetrical patients. Vaccine will be given to those physicians who are able to use up vaccine very quickly. These physicians may pick-up non-adjuvanted vaccine from their local Health Units beginning November 10th. Pregnant women at all stages of pregnancy are eligible for pH1N1 vaccine; they should be offered non-adjuvanted vaccine if it is available but adjuvanted vaccine is also safe in pregnancy and should be offered if non-adjuvanted vaccine is not available.

ONLY THE FOLLOWING GROUPS ARE ELIGIBLE FOR pH1N1 VACCINE
PLEASE DO NOT GIVE VACCINE TO PEOPLE WHO ARE NOT IN THESE PRIORITY GROUPS. YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED AS SOON AS THE ELIGIBILITY LIST IS EXPANDED.

A. TO PROTECT THOSE AT INCREASED RISK OF COMPLICATIONS

• People under the age of 65 with chronic underlying medical conditions (see list on page 2 – same conditions as eligible for publicly-funded seasonal influenza vaccine);
• All pregnant women;
• Children aged 6 months to under 5 years; and
• Household contacts under 65 years of age of infants under 6 months or the immunocompromised.

B.  HEALTH CARE WORKERS

• Health care workers including community physicians and their office staff should be given vaccine at their workplaces on a priority basis, with those delivering critical and front-line services the first priority.

Please report all serious (e.g., anaphylaxis or reactions requiring immediate medical attention, EMS activation, attendance in an ER or hospitalization), neurologic (e.g., Guillain Barré, meningoencephalitis) or other serious, unusual reactions following pH1N1 vaccination as soon as possible (preferably same day) to your local Health Unit.  Expected, common reactions (e.g., injection site swelling or fever or flu-like symptoms) do not need to be reported to the Health Unit. 

Vaccine availability changes daily, so please check regularly at your local Health Unit for updated information (see HU contact info on page 2). Please ask your MOA to let the Health Unit know how many physicians work in the office being picked up for and an estimate of the number of high priority patients in their practices.

pH1N1 vaccine can be given at the same visits as other vaccines, including with routine childhood immunizations. It should be delivered in a limb by itself. Additional information is available in the BCCDC Immunization Manual at http://www.bccdc.ca/dis-cond/comm-manual/CDManualChap2.htm.

Detailed information about the vaccine is available on the Provincial Health Officer’s Website for Physicians at http://www.hls.gov.bc.ca/pho/physh1n1.html.

For information on the pH1N1 immunization program and vaccine availability please call your local Health Unit. Physicians wishing to speak with a Medical Health Officer may call the MHO line at 604-587-3828 or in Fraser East 1-877-342-6467.

CHRONIC UNDERLYING MEDICAL CONDITIONS INCLUDE:

• Cardiac or pulmonary disorders (e.g., bronchopulmonary dysplasia, cystic fibrosis, asthma);
• Diabetes and other metabolic diseases;
• Cancer, immunodeficiency (including human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] infection);
• Immunosuppression due to underlying disease or therapy (e.g., severe rheumatoid arthritis requiring immunosuppressive therapies);
• Chronic kidney disease;
• Chronic liver disease, including hepatitis C;
• Anemia and hemoglobinopathy;
• Conditions that compromise the management of respiratory secretions and are associated with an increased risk of aspiration (e.g., cognitive dysfunction, spinal cord injury, seizure disorder and neuromuscular disorders); and
• Children and adolescents (age 6 months to 18 years) with conditions treated for long periods with acetylsalicylic acid.

Contact Us:

After Hours Public Health Emergency Pager:  604-527-4806.  Ask for the Medical Health Officer On-Call.