Archive for Saturday, November 7, 2009
Communities at work: Public health nurses ration H1N1 inoculation
Public health nurse Jacque Malley gives a nasal mist H1N1 flu vaccination to Michael Profumo, 4, on Wednesday night at Sunset Elementary School. Malley said she has been in public health for 37 years.
November 7, 2009
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Public health nurse Toni Rietveld, right, inoculates Kirsten Maxwell with a seasonal flu vaccine while Maxwell’s son, Teancum, 4, watches the procedure Wednesday at Sunset Elementary School. Teancum also received an H1N1 inoculation.
long with the hockey, basketball, wrestling, skiing and holiday seasons that come with winter, it also is the time of year for the not so popular flu season.
Abigail Carlson, 11, smiles after receiving a flu shot from Jacque Malley on Wednesday at an off-site clinic set up at Sunset Elementary School. Abigail was visibly nervous before the shot and was surprised how painless the process turned out to be.
Public health nurse Toni Rietveld, left, gives a seasonal flu shot to Jessica Profumo on Wednesday at Sunset Elementary. Profumo’s 11-month-old daughter, Adrian, also received a vaccine shot in her upper thigh.
Rietveld gives a nasal mist H1N1 flu vaccination to Ethan Counts, 4, on Wednesday evening at Sunset Elementary School. The H1N1 vaccine is available to people included in the first priority at-risk group, and the second priority group should have access to the inoculation within the next week or so.
The public health nurses with the Northwest Colorado Visiting Nurse Association such as Jacque Malley and Toni Rietveld, calm down nervous children, reassure the elderly and perform inoculation procedures with professionalism and delicate care.
This was the case Wednesday night at Sunset Elementary School.
Because of a nationwide lack of available H1N1 vaccinations, the public health department must ration the inoculation to people who are most at risk.
The first priority group includes pregnant women, household contacts of children younger than 6 months, a subset of health care workers with direct patient care responsibilities, children between 6 months and 4 years old, and children 5 to 18 with underlying risk conditions.
The second priority group includes pregnant women, household contacts of children under 6 months of age, emergency medical services, children age 6 months to 24 years old and non-elderly adults with underlying risk conditions.
Suzi Mariano, of the VNA, said H1N1 inoculations should be available to people in the second priority group within the next week or so.
The third priority is the rest of the general population, and they should receive inoculations in the future as vaccine production increases.
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