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HEALTHAUTHORITY ã Arlene Jorgenson www.healthservsask.com

Comments welcome to ajorgenson@healthservsask.com Volume1 Number 17    

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FLYIN THE FLU ANYONE?    June24, 2010

Thesun is shining, the birds are singing and my flower garden is bursting out allover! It hardly seems like the time to be discussing flu shots for the fall of2010. But we have to.

Thecontracts have already been signed by all us who are purchasing flu vaccine forthe coming season. Assumptions have been made about how the public will respondto this years campaign. Will they rush to be immunized, will they be complacentlike last year, should we buy more, or less, what role will the media play,will there be external political or social factors that will blow ourprojections out of the water?

Therecipe for the Northern Hemisphere this year contains A/California HINI,B/Brisbane, A/Perth H3N2, and A/Victoria strains. Sounds like a good recipe tome with the HINI built right in and a pinch of H3N2 also, whatever that is. Forthose who like details: the recipe has no antibiotics, it's inactivated (not alive vaccine), has a bit of egg protein.

HINIand seasonal flu shot all in one little needle! What a good invention. No extraline- ups. No triaging of priority groups. The vaccine should be deliveredaround the beginning of October. At this time it's still in production so wejoke at our office that it will be delivered on time if no one trips and fallswith a batch at some critical point of production.

Someprovinces are providing flu shots free for everyone again. Some provinces, likeSaskatchewan, provide free flu shots for high risk groups: elderly, chronicillness and under the age of 2. Everyone else has to find a clinic thatprovides it to the public for cost. Watch for those advertisements at yourworkplace, pharmacies, public health or private clinics.

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HEALTHAUTHORITY is published by Arlene Jorgenson BScN, RN, COHN-C occupational healthnurse specialist, speaker, author as a public service. Arlene can be reached at1-877-374-9079 www.healthservsask.comor www.arlenejorgenson.com

Hercompany HEALTHSERV specializes in fit for work medicals, drug and alcoholtesting and hearing conservation for workplaces. She speaks at conferences andeducational seminars on the topics of personal and organizational success andis known for her entertaining style.