Swine flu shots available for O.C. pregnant women

October 30th, 2009, 2:59 pm · 20 Comments · posted by Landon Hall

After weeks of waiting, pregnant women in Orange County finally started receiving the injectable form of the swine-flu vaccine today.

swineflu_blog21 Women who want to be inoculated should call the county’s Health Care Agency referral line, 1-800-564-8448, to set up an appointment. The clinic where the vaccinations are taking place is open weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The county received a shipment of 6,000 shots Thursday, said Dr. Nancy Bowen, chief medical officer for public health services at HCA. Another 8,300 doses should arrive “in the next few days,” she said. An undetermined number of those will go to OB/GYNs, Bowen said.

Another important fact about these doses: They don’t contain thimerosal, the vaccine preservative that contains small amounts of mercury. Some activists and parents of autistic children have blamed mercury in vaccines for rising rates of autism, although no conclusive scientific link has been established.

HCA began notifying obstetricians Thursday about the vaccinations, and 78 women came in for shots today.

Because of the nationwide shortage of vaccine doses, this is the first time that most pregnant women in the county have been eligible to get it. Doses have been available mostly in nasal-spray form (under the brand name FluMist), but that version is only recommended for people age 2-49 who are not pregnant and don’t have any chronic health problems. Doses of the injectable form arrived in the county last Friday, but they were earmarked for hospitals.

“Pregnant women have quite a higher risk of hospitalization and severe illness than the general population” from the virus, Bowen said. “The challenge has been that the main vaccine coming into the county has been the nasal mist, and pregnant women can’t take that. So this is wonderful that we’ve gotten a significant supply of the vaccine shot that is appropriate for pregnant women.”

Two pregnant women and four children are among the 23 Orange County people who have died of H1N1.

Women are at a high risk during a flu pandemic because their immune systems are naturally diminished to accommodate a growing fetus. The baby also puts pressure on the lungs, reducing women’s lung capacity. H1N1 has been known to settle deeply in the lungs, which is why it has hit those with underlying respiratory problems, like asthma, particularly hard. Still, women are historically skeptical of vaccines or any other medication during pregnancy, as this excellent overview in the L.A. Times showed.

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bpsqwerty says:

October 30, 2009 at 3:44 pm

I need it

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ocbear says:

October 30, 2009 at 4:04 pm

Finally the health dept figured out that pregnant women shouldn’t be waiting in a long line. This idea makes a lot more sense than the vaccination clinics in LA county where it’s first-come first-served. It makes a lot more sense to give the vaccine to ob-gyns and to pediatricians.

Jack says:

October 30, 2009 at 4:13 pm

I am 6 weeks pregnant and am very indecisive about getting this shot. Is there going to be a bunch of babies born with problems in the future from these shots? It makes me very nervous. This shot it new correct? How does anyone know the side affects it will have on the fetus??

Landon Hall says:

October 30, 2009 at 4:46 pm

Jack — The shot is new in that it was designed to fight a new strain of the flu, called H1N1. It’s never been tested widely on pregnant women. But the vast majority of the medical and scientific communities are in agreement when they say that this vaccine is made the same way, and to the same standards, that the regular flu vaccine is. And that vaccine — which is, in itself, a new variation each year as it fights adaptations of the “normal” flu virus — has been used by millions of people, including pregnant women, with no severe side effects.

There are currently large studies under way examining pregnant women who have taken the vaccine, and no one, nor their babies, has died or become seriously ill. But pregnant women and unborn children have indeed died from the virus.

There’s a state research center at UCSD that has staffers who can answer more of your questions: 1-800-532-3749.

I’m a parent, too, and I’m as concerned as anyone. Please talk to doctors and other moms-to-be and people who are informed so you can make a wise decision. Good luck in your pregnancy.

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- Jack says:
  
  November 1, 2009 at 7:58 am
  
  Thanks for that Info Landon. Its nice to hear other parents thoughts on this!
  
  Post Reply
ocbear says:

October 30, 2009 at 6:18 pm

Think of a vaccine as simply the “signature” of a virus without the rest of the viral machinery. Your body then learns how to identify the signature in the future as an invader. The vaccine is totally safe. It is just like the other seasonal flu vaccines except that the signature is slightly different.

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shanice says:

October 30, 2009 at 11:20 pm

If you unsure in that way. Don’t get it! Better to be safe than sorry…right? It if was my unborn childs life, NO WAY would I get it. And by law no one can make you get it.

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- carly says:
  
  November 5, 2009 at 5:09 pm
  
  Better to be safe than sorry? Have you seen the stats for pregnant women who get H1N1? You could lose your own life AND the life of your unborn child. Think about it.
  
  Post Reply
Ralf says:

October 31, 2009 at 12:15 pm

See
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/48936/title/Flu_shots_for_moms-to-be_benefit_babies

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Brian says:

October 30, 2009 at 5:02 pm

Let me put on a wig and stuff a pillow in my shirt.

Just Kidding!
You couldn’t pay me to get that shot.

sp3c1al1st says:

October 30, 2009 at 8:05 pm

Glad to see the shots are going to the people that most need it. Those of you who are skeptical of the flu shots: try not to drown in your own mucus when you do come down with the flu.

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ocbear says:

October 30, 2009 at 9:04 pm

Brian, can you explain why, using scientifically sound reasoning, why you feel that way? Amazing how people believe myths.

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Jose says:

October 30, 2009 at 6:08 pm

Great job, thats Getting the word out.

I called,waited about thirty minutes on hold and set an appt for my pregnant wife for this coming Monday.

Nancy says:

October 30, 2009 at 9:59 pm

Such scary times we are living in. This is heartbreaking news for children and pregnant women. Fiction has become reality and I only hope that all the people who want this vaccine can get it.
Can life get anymore stressful?

longcat says:

October 31, 2009 at 1:44 am

I work at a hospital and everyone in my department has been getting this shot the last couple days. Lining up without questioning what is in it. I’m one of the only ones that has declined.

ocbear says:

October 31, 2009 at 2:01 am

..and you may be the only one of the staff who catches the swine flu and transmits it to the hospital patients.

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