The first batches of the H1N1/swine flu vaccine have arrived in the city today.
Some of the first doses, which are of the nasal spray variety, will be administered to children and health care workers at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
A spokesperson for Montefiore says all workers must be vaccinated by November 30th.
The injectable version of the vaccine is scheduled to arrive in the city next week. Both versions take about a week to two weeks to be effective.
The city is planning a massive vaccination program, and will soon offer the vaccine to all city school kids, free of charge.
Health officials yesterday launched a test run for that vaccination program by administering doses of the seasonal flu shot. About 700 students at six schools are getting seasonal flu shots this week.
Officials say the first day of tests went well.
“Everything went fairly okay,” said Dorothy Pilliner, a school nurse for P.S. 40. “Most of the children were a little bit hesitant, but they did fine. Once they got it, they were fine, no reactions.”
“What we want to do is be able to improve the efficiency of our protocol, so we can vaccinate more children per day and identify procedures that will make that go smoother,” said Dr. Jane Zucker of the Department of Health’s Bureau of Immunization.
Permission slips for H1N1 shots will be handed out to all city students within the next few weeks.
The vaccine is being recommended for pregnant women, health care workers, those six months to 24 years old, or those from 25 to 65 years old with an underlying health condition.
For more information, go to nyc.gov/flu.
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To those who think that thimerosol has been ‘phased out’ of vaccines as per the NIH and CDC claims should be apprised of the following excerpt from a Q and A in the New York Times by Tara Parker Pope in the Well section of the Times website:
“Flu vaccine packaged in a multidose vial contains thimerosal, a preservative that prevents contamination of the vial during repeated use. One dose from a multiuse vial contains about 25 micrograms of mercury. By comparison, a tuna fish sandwich contains about 28 micrograms of mercury. Repeated studies have shown thimerosal to be safe. However, people who want to minimize mercury exposure can ask for a vaccine in a single-dose package, which has only trace amounts. Thimerosal is not used in the production of FluMist.”