2009-2010 Flu season information

Along with the American Academy of Pediatrics, Forest View Pediatrics recommends that all children older than 6 months receive the seasonal influenza vaccine along with the H1N1 influenza vaccine. 

The seasonal flu vaccine does not protect against H1N1 influenza. There is a separate vaccine for H1N1. 

How many doses does my child need?

H1N1 flu

• If your child is 6 months through 9 years old, they will need two doses of the H1N1 flu vaccine separated by one month.
• If your child is older than 10, they will need only one dose.

Seasonal flu

• If your child is younger than 9 and it's their first year getting the vaccine, they will need two doses separated by at least one month.
• If your child is younger than 9 and it's their second year getting the vaccine (and they only received one dose last year) they need two doses this year separated by at least one month.
• If your child is younger than 9 and it's their second year getting the vaccine and they received either two doses last year or at least one dose two or more years ago, they only need one dose this year. 
• If your child is older than 9, they only need one dose.

Influenza vaccine supply and scheduling information:

• Seasonal flu vaccine: We have a good supply of both injectable and intranasal flu vaccine for all patients ages 6 months and above.
• H1N1 vaccine: We have a good supply of H1N1 vaccine.  We thank you for your cooperation while we followed the CDC recommendations to vaccinate patients in the priority groups first.  We are happy to offer the vaccine to all Forest View patients ages 6 months and older.

Please continue to check this Web site for updates on H1N1 flu vaccine scheduling. You can also click on the following link:  Forest View H1N1 Vaccine Clinic Updates.

We will continue to offer as many vaccine clinics as supply allows. Please call our office to obtain an updated supply and scheduling information by pressing option 1 after hours, or option 7 during the day.  Public health departments or sites such as Walgreens are also acceptable options for obtaining flu vaccines.  You can click on the following link to find a health department in your area that is offering flu vaccine clinics:  2-1-1 Wisconsin Flu Clinic Locator.

Flu appointments are made with a nurse only. Your child will not be seeing a provider on the day of their flu shot. If you have concerns that you would like to discuss, please call the office and schedule a time when you can see your physician and get the flu vaccine. 

Pending supply issues - For children who have physical exams scheduled, they may receive the influenza vaccine then. If one of your children has a physical scheduled and you wish to bring siblings along to receive their flu vaccines as well, please call our office prior to the appointment to make these arrangements.

If my child has been diagnosed with H1N1 influenza in the past, do they still need the H1N1 vaccine?

• If your child had H1N1 influenza that was confirmed by a PCR test (nasal swab), they do not need the H1N1 vaccine. However, getting the vaccine will not cause any harm.
• If your child had H1N1 influenza that was diagnosed based on clinical symptoms only, they should get the H1N1 vaccine since their case was not confirmed.

Types of seasonal flu vaccine available:

FluMist®
FluMist is a live vaccine. It is a nose spray and can be given to children older than 2. It cannot be given to children with a history of asthma or wheezing. It should provide protection for 14 months.

Flu shot
The flu shot is an inactivated vaccine that can be given to children older than 6 months. It should provide protection for 12 months. 

The H1N1 flu vaccine is available both as a shot and a nasal spray.  We have not had much control over which version of H1N1 we've received from the state.  We do have doses of the injectable vaccine but a larger portion of our supply is of the H1N1 nasal spray.  Many patients prefer the intranasal mist over the shot, and this is an excellent and safe option for protection from the H1N1 virus.  

Can family members of a pregnant woman receive the nasal spray vaccine?

Yes, as long as they are at least 2 years old and have no chronic medical conditions.  Pregnant women and nursing moms should NOT receive the live nasal spray influenza vaccine.

Spacing between vaccines:

• If your child needs two doses of the same flu vaccine, the two doses should be separated by at least four weeks.
• If your child has received a live vaccine (ie. MMR, Varivax or Rotateq) recently, there needs to be at least 28 days between when they got the live vaccine and when they receive either the Intranasal Seasonal or the Intranasal H1N1 vaccine.
• If your child has received an inactivated vaccine recently (ie. Tdap, Menactra, HPV, Hep A, Hep B, IPV, Prevnar, DTaP, Hib), there is no minimum interval between that vaccine and either the seasonal flu vaccine or the H1N1 vaccine.
• See the chart below for information on whether your child can get the seasonal and H1N1 vaccine at the same visit or whether they need to be given at separate visits:

Vaccines	Minimum Interval	Okay to receive at the same time?
Injectable Seasonal & Injectable H1N1	None	Yes
Injectable Seasonal & Intranasal H1N1	None	Yes
Intranasal Seasonal & Injectable H1N1	None	Yes
Intranasal Seasonal & Intranasal H1N1	4 weeks	No

Information on the H1N1 vaccine recall:

• Forest View Pediatrics did receive some of the H1N1 doses that have been recalled. These doses were recalled because they did not meet the manufacturer's requirements on potency. There are no safety concerns with the recalled doses. We have removed all remaining recalled vaccine from our supply.

• Forest View Pediatrics is following the CDC recommendations which states that patients who received the recalled H1N1 vaccine do not need to repeat this dose. We still are recommending that all patients younger than age 10 receive two doses at least 28 days apart. Patients who are 10 years and older only need one dose of H1N1 influenza vaccine.

• Please click on the following link for additional information: CDC Non-safety-related Voluntary Recall of Certain Lots of Sanofi Pasteur H1N1 Pediatric Vaccine in Pre-Filled Syringes.     

Influenza resources:

• 2-1-1 Wisconsin Flu Clinic Locator.
• Children's Hospital of Wisconsin flu updates for families.
• Children's Flu Fighters.
• Centers for Disease Control H1N1 flu information.
• Cold vs. Flu:  Recognizing Flu.
• AAP H1N1 flu information. 
• H1N1 Influenza Injectable Information Sheet.
• H1N1 Influenza Intranasal Information Sheet.
• Vaccine Ingredients Q & A.
• Pandemic Information for Wisconsin.