Women Physicians OB/GYN Blog

WPMG just received a new shipment of the H1N1 vaccine. Our high risk patients have now all been vaccinated so we can make this available to anyone who would like to be protected from this flu.

The experience thus far with this vaccine has shown that it is as safe as the regular seasonal flu vaccine. It has also been shown to be effective in preventing what can be a serious flu epidemic in previously healthy people, at times resulting in hospitalizations and death. We hope that this epidemic has peaked and the outbreaks will be decreasing, but once an epidemic peaks, 50% of the hospitalizations and 50% of the deaths are still yet to occur.

Unless you have a contraindication, we at WPMG recommend that everyone have this vaccination. Even if you are at low risk of complications, you could unknowingly pass it on to someone else who is at high risk of complications since people can transmit the virus to others 2 days before the symptoms occur.

If you would like to have this vaccination at our office for a $25 injection fee, please call first at 650-988-7550 to confirm a time to come in.

WPMG has received a supply of thimerasol free H1N1 vaccine. Beginning Monday, December 7, we will be offering vaccinations to our high risk patients. If you meet the criteria listed below, please call our office at 650-988-7550 to make an appointment.

The following groups are high risk:
-Pregnant women;
-People who live with or care for infants younger than 6 months of age;
-Healthcare workers (HCWs) and emergency medical personnel;
-Persons 6 months to 24 years of age;
-Persons 25-64 years of age who have chronic diseases (including immunodeficiency states) that pose risk for influenza.

Contraindications to the inactivated vaccine include:
-Previous Guillain-Barré syndrome;
-Life-threatening reaction to previous influenza vaccination; and
-Severe illness (a “moderately or severely ill” patient is advised to wait, but a mild upper respiratory infection or other illness is not a contraindication).

Note that pregnancy and breastfeeding are not contraindications to receiving the inactivated vaccine. The most common side effect with the killed virus vaccine is soreness at the injection site. The cost is $25.