November 2, 2009

UCSF Receives First Shipment of H1N1 Vaccine

UCSF has received its first shipment of H1N1 vaccine and expects the next shipment within two weeks, according to Josh Adler, MD, chief medical officer of UCSFS Medial Center.

“The initial allotment contains about 2,100 doses of vaccine,” Adler said in an email to the UCSF community on Nov. 2. “In accordance with the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we will provide vaccine to employees who work in high-risk and high-prevalence clinical units – the Emergency Department, Urgent Care, pediatric primary care and critical care units—and to our highest-risk patients, specifically children and pregnant women.”

UCSF’s Occupational Health Program will facilitate the administration of the vaccine in patient care units.

Adler said that there are no H1N1 flu shot clinics scheduled. Managers will let employees know how to obtain the vaccine.

“Our next allotment of vaccine will be administered to employees in other patient care areas and to adult patients with chronic illness,” Adler noted. “Ultimately, we expect that all UCSF employees and patients will be eligible to receive the vaccine.”

In his last message sent on Oct. 29, Adler pointed out that the supply of H1N1 vaccine from manufacturers is being distributed at a rate slower than expected.

“In the meantime, please get vaccinated for the seasonal flu, if you haven’t already, and continue to use hand hygiene and other infection control precautions to protect our patients and our workforce,” he said.

Employees, who don’t have direct patient contact, but who qualify for priority status for the H1N1 vaccination because of other risk factors, should contact their primary care doctors or a public health clinic to receive the vaccine on a priority basis. You are considered at risk if you are:

Pregnant
Caregiver of a child less than 6 months old
Ages six months to 24 years old
Ages 25 to 64 years old with severe, chronic health conditions

Those with questions regarding the vaccinesfor the seasonal flu or H1N1, should contact Occupational Health.

If you have any questions regarding the vaccine for the seasonal flu or H1N1, please contact Occupational Health.

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