The CDC announced yesterday that children under 10 years of age will need two doses of the H1N1 vaccine, given 1 month apart, to give full protection. Anyone older than 10 years of age will only require a single injection. It was initially felt that all people would require two doses, but a single dose has demonstrated good protection in testing of the older age groups.
We still do not know when we will receive the H1N1 vaccine, so please "stay tuned." We hope to have it by mid-October. Unfortunately, our office is experiencing a shortage of the regular seasonal flu vaccine. We have cancelled the October 10 Saturday morning Flu Vaccine clinic, and we are not adding any new appointments for this Saturday, September 26. We apologize for any inconvenience, and we request your patience this flu season as we try to accomodate everyone to the best of our ability.
As a reminder: all of the flu activity in the Dallas area currently is H1N1 "Swine Flu." The regular flu vaccine is not effective in protecting against swine flu, and we do not expect to see seasonal influenza activity until later in the fall. Thus, there is no need to panic if you haven't gotten your regular flu shot yet. As described in the previous blog post, you can subscribe for e-mail updates, become a fan on Facebook, or subscribe to this blog to receive the latest news and information from Forest Lane Pediatrics.