Heather Latter
Vaccinations
still available
Given the lack of H1N1 activity in the region for more than a month, the Northwestern Health Unit is touting its recent vaccination campaign as a success.
“I think because it was a common message from beginning to end, people have an increased awareness,” said Arlene Lesenke, director of health protection for the Northwestern Health Unit.
She noted 18,627 people in the region received the H1N1 vaccine from the Northwestern Health Unit while 8,071 seasonal ‘flu vaccinations were doled out as of late last week.
“In a normal ’flu season, which we would start immunizing in October and would probably be finished immunizing in January, the Northwestern Health Unit would deliver approximately 11,000 seasonal ’flu immunizations,” Lesenke remarked.
“So when you look at the combined total of how many immunizations we’ve given between H1N1 and seasonal, and we’ve done that in a very short period of time, I think it shows that we were able to respond to the need,” she added.
There were 147 confirmed cases of H1N1 in the health unit’s catchment area, with 74 of those stemming from the first wave of the virus from mid-April until the end of August.
The remaining 73 confirmed cases were from the second wave, which started at the beginning of September.
“But we’ve had no activity here since late November,” stressed Lesenke, though citing there’s a possibility of a third wave this spring.
“I think it’s most likely that we’ll see perhaps sporadic activity, but definitely rates of infection from H1N1 have declined across the province and across Canada,” she said.
“The success of the immunization campaign across Ontario should provide us with a level of immunity,” she added. “So hopefully that means we will not see a lot of activity in the spring.”
There have been no reports of seasonal ’flu to date, said Lesenke, but stressed vaccinations are still available and it’s not too late to receive them.
“Immunizations are still being offered by appointments,” she explained. “So if people are interested in getting either their H1N1 or seasonal influenza immunizations, we advise them to please call their health unit [office] and they’d be more than happy to set up a time for them to come in and receive it.”
She also encouraged those who are sick to stay home and for people to practice good hand hygiene.
“All of that stuff, personal infection control measures that you can do personally, should be done throughout the entire year,” Lesenke urged.
“There is always bugs out there that we need to protect ourselves against.”
With the height of the recent H1N1 campaign behind them, Lesenke had plenty of praise to offer.
“Personally, I was very proud of the way that the health unit staff pulled together across the region, which enabled us to have a successful campaign,” she lauded.
“And I would also like to thank the public for, at times, being patient and understanding that we were doing the best we could with the information we had at the time.
“People, for the most part, were very supportive, patient, and we really appreciated it,” Lesenke added.
“That helped us be able to do our job.”
For more information, contact your local health unit office or visit www.nwhu.on.ca
