H1N1 clinics deemed success

By CHARLES OWENS

TAZEWELL, Va. — The first round of H1N1 school vaccination clinics in Southwest Virginia are winding down with hundreds of school-aged children now inoculated against swine flu.

School absenteeism rates in Southwest Virginia are currently ranging from 7.9 percent in Bland County to 10.2 percent in Smyth County, according to Robert Parker, a public information officer with the Virginia Department of Health.

Virginia is now reporting 11 deaths associated with the H1N1 virus, including one death in the Mount Rogers Health District in rural Southwest Virginia. The health district is composed of Bland, Wythe, Washington, Grayson, Carroll, Smyth and Grayson counties, as well as the city of Bristol.

Parker said the Southwest Virginia woman was an adult female with underlying health complications who died on Oct. 8. Health officials are not releasing what county the woman lived in. No deaths associated with the H1N1 virus have been reported to date in the Cumberland Plateau Health District, which includes Tazewell and Buchanan counties.

A number of school children in Tazewell County have already been vaccinated against the H1N1 virus, school health nurse Sandy Shortridge said Thursday.

“They have concluded the first round, but they of course will be coming back for the second round,” Shortridge said. “As far as I know, it’s been a pretty good participation.”

Parker said the in-school H1N1 clinics to date in the Southwest Virginia region have been “an overwhelming success” in terms of administering the vaccine that the health department has received.

“They are winding down,” Parker said of the in-school H1N1 clinics. “But I don’t they have stopped completely. It is different in each health district.”

The percentage of residents of Southwest Virginia currently reporting flu-like illnesses is estimated at 8.8 percent. The statewide average is currently estimated at 13.93 percent.

In addition to the H1N1 virus, Parker said other viruses also are circulation across the region.

“There does seem to be quite a lot circulating right now, both flu and other viruses that may have other symptoms,” he said. “There are a lot of folks that are falling ill lately.”

State health commissioner Dr. Karen Remley said on Thursday that patients reporting swine flu-related symptoms make up about 14 percent of emergency room and urgent-care medical visits, the Associated Press reported.

She said a shortage of the H1N1 vaccine continues with 598,000 doses now having been received or on the way to the state.

– Contact Charles Owens at cowens@bdtonline.com