County News
H1N1 Vaccine: Separating Fact from Fiction
A lot of information has been circulating lately about the H1N1 (or Swine flu) vaccine that is expected to arrive soon. The information below should answer some of the questions many people are having.
What is a novel virus?
A novel virus is one that has never before infected humans, or hasn't infected humans for a long time. It's likely that almost no one will have immunity to protect them from the novel H1N1 virus. Therefore, anyone exposed to the virus--young or old, healthy or weak--could become infected and get sick.
What’s the difference between Novel H1N1 and seasonal flu?
The virus that causes seasonal flu changes a little bit each year, but the changes are small. Getting a yearly flu vaccine helps to protect us from those small changes. The H1N1 flu virus is new and so 
different that many people, especially younger people, do not have much resistance. This is the reason why so many people got sick in the spring and we expect to see many more people, especially children, come down with the novel flu this fall.
Is the H1N1 flu really in our area now?
YES! Because the H1N1 virus has been very mild so far, you probably know friends and family in Buncombe County and the surrounding area that have had it but didn’t realize it at the time. Seasonal flu usually occurs sometime between November through March or April. Most of those who have had flu symptoms over the spring and summer very likely had H1N1 flu. According to the CDC some people may be infected with this novel flu and have respiratory symptoms without a fever.
Flu symptoms include: fever, cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache, chills or fatigue.
What’s in the H1N1 vaccine? Isn’t it dangerous?
The H1N1 vaccine is made in eggs exactly like the seasonal flu vaccine. The only difference is the strain of flu that’s in the vaccine.
Some people have expressed concern about this vaccine because it hasn’t been tested long. Because this is a completely new strain of virus, much of the testing has been to determine whether we need to have one or two doses of the novel flu vaccine for it to be effective. Fortunately for us, scientists have found that those over 9 years of age can be sufficiently protected after only one vaccine. Current testing shows that children under 9 years will need to have a second H1N1 vaccine a few weeks after their first to be fully protected.
All flu vaccines have changed ingredients in the past 2 years or so and no longer contain additives as they once did. Flu vaccine that is produced in ‘multi-dose vials’, small containers with enough vaccine for about 10 shots, contain the inactivated influenza virus and thimerosal, a preservative. Some people are concerned about thimerosal because it contains mercury; however the amount is so small that FDA reports have found no evidence of harm except for minor skin reactions in some people.
Why aren’t older people a priority for getting the early H1N1 vaccines?
Only about 3% of those over the age of 65 are known to have become ill with the H1N1 virus. It’s suspected that older people may have been exposed to a similar flu strain years ago. Because this is a new flu strain, those who are more likely to become ill and experience the worst symptoms are people 24 years of age and under, pregnant women and people of any age with chronic health conditions such as asthma. We expect there to eventually be enough H1N1 vaccine for anyone who would like it, including those over age 65.
Those who will be a priority to receive the first doses of H1N1 vaccine are:
- Pregnant women;
- Household contacts of infants under 6 months;
- Healthcare and emergency medical services workers;
- Young people between 6 months and 24 years of age;
- Non-elderly adults (ages 25-64) with chronic medical conditions that make them at higher risk of flu-related complications.
Shouldn’t we all be given Tamiflu if we have flu symptoms?
Experience with Tamiflu has shown that only those who are very sick or have chronic medical conditions and are at risk of complications from H1N1 should be given Tamiflu. Scientists and medical professionals believe that Tamiflu could become ineffective if used too much. Because of this, Tamiflu is now recommended for seriously ill or at-risk patients within the first 3 days of their illness.
I’m healthy. Why should I be vaccinated for H1N1?
This is a common question, especially from those who aren’t in a high risk group. Think about it this way – Getting an H1N1 vaccine (or even a seasonal flu vaccine) isn’t entirely about keeping yourself from getting the flu. It’s also a Social Responsibility to protect people who are at risk of serious complications or even death.
We know that H1N1 has been a very mild illness for some. But by protecting yourself from illness you also protect those people you’re around. The more of us who are vaccinated against flu, the more likely that pregnant women, babies, young people and those who have other chronic health problems won’t get flu.
For more information:
Information about H1N1 flu changes constantly as more is learned about it. To keep up-to-date about this virus and also know when and where the vaccine will be available you may check www.buncombecounty.org. Links are available on our website that come directly from the CDC. Soon you will also be able to call our Flu Vaccine Hotline and hear information about H1N1 as well as seasonal flu. The hotline number is 250-6400.