State officials attend H1N1 summit
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By DANIEL BARLOW VERMONT PRESS BUREAU - Published: July 10, 2009
MONTPELIER – State officials charged with preparing for a swine flu emergency traveled to Washington, D.C., on Thursday to hear what the Obama administration is doing in case of a major public health outbreak.
Vermont Agency of Human Services Secretary Robert Hofmann, Department of Health Commissioner Wendy Davis and Homeland Security Director Chris Reinfurt all met with their federal counterparts during a swine flu summit in D.C.
The big news from the meeting was an announcement by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius that the federal government is preparing to send out millions of flu vaccination shots this fall.
The H1N1 flu – better known as swine flu – is the first pandemic of the 21st century, claiming nearly 500 lives in the United States earlier this year. Health officials fear that the deadly flu will emerge again as a major threat in the fall.
Hofmann said the media attention on H1N1 has died down since spring, but officials are still taking the threat very seriously. He said state and federal officials are planning for a worst-case scenario, explaining that it is always easier to "dial back" a planned response than be confronted with a development that was unplanned for.
No one in Vermont has died from the swine flu, although the state had several cases earlier this year that sent some people to the hospital. The state is still urging people with obvious signs of flu to stay home from school or work.
"We don't know what the next public health emergency will be," Hofmann said. "But efforts like this can be replicated and adapted to other emergencies."
Gov. James Douglas was also one of a handful of state governors to participate in the summit via video conference. He asked Sebelius if her plans call for a universal vaccination against the swine flu or if it would be targeted toward populations that were vulnerable.
"And perhaps more importantly," Douglas asked, "Who is going to pay for it?"
Sebelius said the federal government has stockpiles of the vaccine – and more is being prepared. The vaccinations will be targeted to vulnerable populations, she said, in this case young and older Americans with specific health problems that put them at risk.
The first wave of the drugs is expected to hit the states in mid-October.
"All of the vaccinations will not be available simultaneously," she said.
If there is a severe outbreak of the swine flu in the fall, local schools and hospitals will play an important role in controlling the situation, officials said. Some of the earliest swine flu cases reported this year popped up in – and sometimes closed – public schools.
Hospitals in the state have been preparing for a dangerous flu outbreak since the avian flu broke out several years ago, according to Dennis Malloy, an emergency preparedness specialist with the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems.
The minor outbreak of the H1N1 flu earlier this year gave local hospitals a chance to test their emergency systems, Malloy said, and they are now adapting their plans based on those results.
"For the most part, that went pretty well," he said. "Of course, we have a much lighter experience than other states did. Every state is working on this; every hospital is working on this."
Federal officials worried Thursday that local hospitals would become overwhelmed with sick patients. Malloy said if space grew tight in Vermont hospitals they would likely set up auxiliary sites to screen patients and determine the level of severity of their illnesses. People could also be cared for in their homes, he said.
daniel.barlow@rutlandherald.com
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