Vermont Receives Limited Supply of Avian Influenza Vaccine from CDC for Select Emergency Department Employees
THIS IS AN EXERCISE: THIS IS NOT A REAL EVENT.
This is a Drill!!!
For Immediate Release: July 25, 2006
Media Contact: Communication Office
Vermont Department of Health
802-863-7281
BURLINGTON – The State of Vermont received a limited supply of avian influenza vaccine this morning from the federal government and will vaccinate a select group of hospital emergency department employees.
The vaccine arrived from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as part of the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS), a federal asset that supplements local medication supplies. Each state was provided a limited number of doses, and the Health Department is making every effort to obtain more doses.
“Currently there are no confirmed cases of avian influenza in Vermont, but we are being proactive and taking optimal precautions to protect those personnel that the state will lean heavily upon in an emergency,” said Acting Health Commissioner Sharon Moffatt, RN, MSN. “The SNS can be a life-saving resource and is part of our many efforts to protect Vermonters.”
The State of Vermont continues to conduct aggressive disease surveillance and investigation to detect unusual patterns of illness.
A total of 75 suspected human avian influenza infections in California, including 25 confirmed infections of avian influenza have been reported by the CDC. All 75 travelers visited either Australia, Tokyo or Bangkok, or had close contact with visitors to those areas.
Providers are required to report to the Health Department any patients with travel history to an area that has been impacted by avian influenza who: 1) have a temperature greater than 100.4 degrees with a cough or sore throat, pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), or other severe respiratory illness or 2) have had close contact (within 3 feet) with individuals suspected or confirmed to have the H5N1 avian.
The Health Department also advises people to limit the spread of germs and prevent infection by washing hands frequently with soap and water; covering coughs and sneezes with tissues, and staying away from others as much as possible if they are sick.
For a full list of precautions and preparations families can take to prepare for a possible pandemic , please visit: http://healthvermont.gov/emerg/opf/checklist.aspx. Anyone who shows symptoms should contact their physician or local health provider.
Vermonters with questions or concerns should call the Health Department Information Line at: 211
For more information on pandemic flu, please visit: http://healthvermont.gov.
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