WellCommons

Vials of the mumps vaccine are displayed at the Douglas County Health Department in this 2006 photo. by Thad Allender

By Christine Metz

Last year about 1 percent of parents of Kansas kindergartners opted their children out of immunization shots. It’s a number state and local health officials don’t want to see grow.

More than half the states in the country have seen at least a slight rise in the rate of exemptions over the past five years, according to an Associated Press report last week. States with the highest exemption rates are in the West and upper Midwest.

While the 1 percent exemption rate in Kansas doesn’t seem like a lot, state epidemiologist Charles Hunt said the state tends to see exemptions concentrated in certain areas. Among the state’s nearly 800 schools, only 250 reported exemptions.

“This 1 percent is not necessarily evenly distributed throughout the state,” Hunt said.

At a Lawrence-Douglas County Health Board meeting this month, board members and health department director Dan Partridge expressed concern about a Wichita-based group lobbying to parents to opt out of vaccinations.

During the last legislative session, Kansans for Vaccine Rights introduced a bill to the House Health and Human Services Committee to add conscientious exemption to the reasons for parents to opt out of immunizations. Exemptions are already allowed on religious and medical grounds.

The bill never got out of committee, but Partridge said the group’s lobbying efforts have increased since the session ended.

“Our concern this year is they will have gathered enough momentum to get it out of committee and onto the floor for a vote,” Partridge said.

Leaders from Kansans for Vaccine Rights declined to speak to the Lawrence Journal-World but provided written information on their stance.

“Our group is not anti-vaccination, but rather pro-parental rights, pro-informed consent and pro-freedom of conscience,” they wrote. “Parents who are choosing to opt out or delay one, some or all of the required vaccinations have valid concerns and questions that are not being fully answered or resolved.”

The group said the bill will be reviewed again in the 2012 legislative session.

Nineteen states allow parents to exempt out of immunizations for conscientious, philosophical, medical or religious reasons. The group noted these states continue to have high average vaccination participation and low exemption rates. But Partridge said the decision to vaccinate is one that affects more than just the child — it’s a social obligation because a healthy, unvaccinated child could carry a disease to a more vulnerable, unvaccinated person, such as an infant.

“It’s not just about my child, my decision. It’s not an isolated consequence,” Partridge said.

Not that long ago, 450 people a year were dying from measles, Hib meningitis killed 600 children each year and polio caused up to 20,000 cases of paralysis.

Partridge said the risk of going unvaccinated is far greater than the risks associated with vaccines.

“There are risks,” he said. “But there are millions and billions of vaccines given in the world and the vast majority of complications are a sore arm or low-grade fever.”

Hunt said part of the concern has to do with the ever-increasing list of vaccines children are required to have before they can attend school.

“Things have gotten more complicated with the number of vaccines given, new vaccines developed, new schedules. Children are getting a lot of vaccines in the first years of life,” Hunt said.

These are the immunization requirements for children entering Kansas kindergartens this year:

• Four to five doses of diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis.

• Four doses of polio.

• Two doses of measles, mumps, rubella.

• Two doses of chicken pox.

• Three doses of hepatitis B.

• Doses of three other vaccines are required for children under 5 who are in early-childhood programs.

But Hunt also said that parents today are exposed to a lot more information — not all of which is accurate, he said — on vaccines and their effects.

Partridge believes people have forgotten about the devastation these diseases brought before there were vaccinations.

“It follows a whole bunch of other trends in society in kind of forgetting the lessons of the past,” Partridge said.

As for what can happen when children go unvaccinated, Partridge pointed to outbreaks of pertussis, commonly known as whooping cough, that occurred in Douglas County this year. In October, six cases were reported, four of which were from unvaccinated children. And in March, seven cases were reported, six of which were from unvaccinated children.

“We can’t let down our guard,” Partridge said.

Conner Liakos, 8, waits for the stick of the needle from volunteer Nola Bienoff. The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department organized the drive-thru flu shot clinic Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011, as part of a training exercise to test the community public health emergency response plans. Health department director Dan Partridge said he doesn't anticipate having a drive-thru clinic in 2012 due to costs. by Kevin Anderson

It’s not too late.

That’s the message that Kansas health officials are delivering this week to folks who have procrastinated about getting a flu shot.

Thousands of people already have been vaccinated this year in Douglas County. But Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department spokeswoman Lisa Horn is asking those who haven’t received one to get a shot now.

“That way, they will have immunity by the time Christmas rolls around when they are mingling with friends and family,” Horn said.

And the flu shot will provide protection later in the season, too, when flu activity is at its highest.

Here are some numbers to gauge how this year’s flu season is shaping up:

2,124

The number of people who have received flu shots from the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department since Sept. 1.

2,055

The number of people who received flu shots from the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department during the 2010-2011 flu season.

6

The number of clinics the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department held for flu vaccines this year.

2

The number of weeks it takes before a flu shot provides optimal protection.

46.2 percent

The vaccine coverage area the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported for Kansas residents during the 2010-2011 flu season.

200,000

The number of people in the United States hospitalized each year with flu complications, according to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

14

Number of Kansans who died from influenza during the 2010-11 flu season. The year before, 31 people died, according to KDHE.

5 to 20

The percent of population that contracts the flu yearly.

29

The number of states where sporadic influenza activity has been reported, according to the CDC’s weekly influenza surveillance report. Nearby states include Colorado, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas and Texas.

21

The number of states where no flu activity has been reported as of the Nov. 26 CDC report. Kansas is among those states.

6 months and older

Who the CDC recommends should get a flu shot.

$28

The cost of a flu shot at the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department for people 3 and older. Shots are available during regular clinic hours. For more information and to print out forms, go to www.ldchealth.org/flu.htm.

$23

The cost of a flu shot at the Lawrence Douglas County Health Department for people between the ages of 6 months and 35 months.

The Kansas Department of Health and Environment will host a live Twitter chat about flu prevention from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday. You can follow @KDHE and search for the hashtag #KSflu, where you can get information about flu vaccines, prevention methods and symptoms.

Here’s a dose of health news from WellCommons, around town and elsewhere:

LINK BETWEEN AUTISM AND VACCINE 'ELABORATE FRAUD'

In an editorial published Wednesday, the British Medical Journal declared the 1998 study by Andrew Wakefield that implied a link between the MMR vaccine and autism “an elaborate fraud.”

The study already has been retracted by 10 of Wakefield's co-authors.

Dr. Fiona Godlee, BMJ editor in chief, says, “The MMR scare was based not on bad science but on a deliberate fraud” and that such “clear evidence of falsification of data should now close the door on this damaging vaccine scare.”

A series of three articles in the BMJ starting this week reveal the true extent of the scam behind the scare. The series is based on interviews, documents and data, collected during seven years of inquiries by investigative journalist Brian Deer.

Dr. Stephen Lauer, vice chairman of pediatrics at Kansas University Hospital.

In response to the editorial, Dr. Stephen Lauer, vice chairman of pediatrics at Kansas University Hospital, had this to say:

“One of the great frustrations in pediatric medicine today is the reluctance of parents to vaccinate their children against a variety of deadly diseases. Much of this resistance stems directly from Dr. Wakefield's paper and subsequent work on his part maintaining a tie between the MMR vaccine and autism.

“The fact that this work was not just wrong but fraudulent makes the situation even worse. In many cases, concerned but misled parents have declined to vaccinate their children against measles  - a disease that kills at least 150,000 children worldwide - as well as numerous other diseases. The recent increase in deaths from pertussis in California is another example of completely preventable deaths linked to the decline in vaccination rates.  

“Study after study in numerous countries involving hundreds of thousands of children have never shown any link between autism and any vaccination. That Dr. Wakefield's lies have led to increased illness and deaths among innocent infants and children is a social and medical disaster.”

KIM'S PAGE ON CARINGBRIDGE SITE

Lawrence resident Kim Banning-Bohmann - who has scleroderma, also known as the “hardening disease - now has a CaringBridge web site. (We first published her story on WellCommons in late November.)

To visit, click on CaringBridge.org. The name prompt is kimbanningbohmann.

Kim said her friend Jen Nelson set up the page for her.   She will be leaving Jan. 14 for Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, where she will undergo an autologous stem cell transplant. Doctors expect she will be able to return home March 14.

While in Chicago, friends and family will be with Kim and updating her CaringBridge page.

“I feel it (the site) will be a wonderful way for me to feel connected to all my loved ones while being gone for such a long time,” she said in an e-mail.

National Stalking Awareness Month poster. by kbritt

STALKING AWARENESS

January is National Stalking Awareness Month.   In Kansas in 2009:

• 820 incidents of stalking were reported to law enforcement.

• 4,756 protection from stalking orders were filed in courts.

“We know that for every victim who reports to law enforcement or who seeks a protection order, there are countless others who aren’t coming forward. We encourage communities to work together to provide support for victims, to hold offenders accountable and to prevent future tragedies.”

— Joyce Grover, executive director of the Kansas Coalition Against Sexual and Domestic Violence

Nationally:

• In one out of five cases, stalkers used weapons to harm or threaten victims.

• In 76 percent of female homicides, the victims were stalked by their partner prior to their murder.  

• In 89 percent of female homicides, the victims had been both physically assaulted and stalked in the 12 months prior to their murder.

• 46 percent of stalking victims experience at least one unwanted contact per week.

• Three out of four victims are stalked by someone they know.

• One in eight employed victims lose time from work.

• One in seven victims relocate as a result of being stalked.

The Kansas Crisis Hotline number is 888-END-ABUSE (888-363-2287).

The KCSDV website includes information about where to find services for survivors. For Douglas County:

• GaDuGi Safe Center - 841-2345.

• The Willow Domestic Violence Center - 800-770-3030 or 843-3333.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department is having community flu vaccination clinic Tuesday, Dec. 7.

The clinic will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt., as part of National Influenza Vaccination Week.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older receive a flu shot.

Flu vaccine is $22 for children 6 months to 35 months and $26 for anyone who is older than 3. Clients eligible for Medicare Part B, Medicaid, HealthWave and Blue Cross/Blue Shield will have their insurance billed.

And, here's a fun incentive: FREE indoor aquatic center passes from Lawrence Parks and Recreation will be given to children ages 5-17 who are vaccinated at the clinic.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department is doing a good job of getting children vaccinated.

Seventy-nine percent of their clients, ages 2 and under, were up-to-date on their vaccinations in 2009. Nationally, the average was 70 percent, and statewide, it was 77 percent.

The health department already has improved its rate to 83 percent, but its goal is 90 percent.

“If you have a 90 percent immunization rate, then you would have good protection for those children who are not able to be immunized for whatever reason,” Kathy Colson, immunization team leader, said. She gave a report during Monday night’s board meeting.

She said vaccines are required to attend school, but there are medical and religious exemptions.

“So, not all children are vaccinated in school,” she said.

It’s important to get children immunized, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, because it protects them from dangerous childhood diseases, which can have serious complications and even be deadly.

During the past year, 395 children, ages 2 and under, received vaccines at the health department.

Colson said studies tend to compare immunization rates for children, ages 2 and under, because they should have received all of the recommended vaccines by then. She said they actually could be done at age 1.

The vaccine recommendations are referred to as the 431331 series:

• 4 Diphtheria, Tetanus, and Pertussis (DTaP).

• 3 inactivated or oral polio.

• 1 Measles, Mumps, Rubella (MMR).

• 3 Haemophilus influenza.

• 3 Hepatitus B.

• 1 varicella (chickenpox).

Health department leaders hope to increase their childhood immunization rates by having the nursing staff emphasize the importance of vaccines at every visit. The front desk staff also will work to obtain and print outlying records at every visit.

The health department will immunize any child in Douglas County, but a majority of its clients are low-income. These families tend to be focused on providing food and shelter and sometimes overlook vaccinations.

“I think we’ve done well, but we can do better,” Colson said.

Nancy Reese, center, and her husband, Jim, stopped to get their flu shots from volunteer Barbara Schnitker Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, during Lawrence's first drive-through flu shot clinic. by Kevin Anderson

The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department board heard a report about the department’s first drive-through flu shot clinic on Monday evening.

Lisa Horn, communications coordinator, gave a report. She said:

• 402 people were vaccinated.

• 55 percent filled out consent forms before arriving at the clinic.

• The average time from entering the parking lot to leaving was 24 minutes.

• The average time it took people to get vaccinated was 3 minutes. That’s from the time the car pulled up to the vaccination station until the time it left.

It was a public health emergency training exercise for Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department staff, the Douglas County Medical Reserve Corps, and community volunteers.

The board also watched this fun video, where clinic volunteers and workers shared what their experiences were like on Saturday.

A few board members asked whether they could have handled more people. Partridge said that they would have to extend hours to do so. He said the eight vaccination stations were constantly busy, except for the last five minutes.

Last year, the department vaccinated about 1,300 people during a four-hour H1N1 clinic.

Board members also questioned Partridge about whether they’d provide a drive-through clinic again next year.

He wasn’t sure because the clinic cost about $4,000, and involved more than 70 volunteers and workers. Board members suggested the health department consider teaming up with a business or agency.

Volunteer Tiffany Belland, a student in Kansas University's School of Pharmacy, gets a flu shot ready during a drive-thru flu shot clinic in 2010 at KU's Park and Ride Lot, Clinton Parkway and Iowa Street. by Kevin Anderson

Four hundred and two people got a free flu shot Saturday morning during Lawrence’s first drive-through vaccination clinic.

Forty cars were waiting in line when the clinic opened at 8:45 a.m. — 15 minutes earlier than scheduled — in Kansas University’s Park and Ride Lot at the northwest corner of Clinton Parkway and Iowa Street.

There were about 70 people who volunteered or worked during the clinic, which ended at 10:30 a.m. It was a public health emergency training exercise for Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department staff, the Douglas County Medical Reserve Corps, and community volunteers.

Health department director Dan Partridge thought the training exercise ran smoothly.

“I was just gauging how many people were smiling and I thought there were far more smiles than frowns. So, I think it went well,” he said.

Nancy Reese, center, and her husband, Jim, stopped to get their flu shots from volunteer Barbara Schnitker Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, during Lawrence's first drive-through flu shot clinic. by Kevin Anderson

Drivers are directed to stalls this morning during a drive-through flu shot clinic at Kansas University's Park and Ride Lot. The flu shots were free because the clinic served as a public health emergency training exercise for Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department staff, the Douglas County Medical Reserve Corps, and community volunteers. by Kevin Anderson

Driver Tena Santaularia, Lawrence, received an "I was brave" sticker after getting a flu shot Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010, at a drive-through clinic at the Kansas University's Park and Ride Lots. by Kevin Anderson

Drivers made their way through a maze of traffic safety cones. Along the way, they stopped at a station where vaccine consent forms were checked.

Then they drove up and parked next to one of eight vaccination stations. The vaccinators took their consent forms, and the participants rolled up their sleeves, got a flu shot, and drove off. For those who needed extra assistance, like terrified children or the developmentally disabled, there were chairs to sit on at each station.

David Nelson, Lawrence, and his wife, Sherry, waited about 20 minutes to get their flu shots, but they didn’t mind.

“I am in my car,” he said, laughing. “I am a big fan of drive-ins. I love this.”

The 60-somethings described the clinic as well organized.

The longest wait was about 35 minutes. By 10:15 a.m., there was no line.

James Wisler Sr., Lawrence, and his 3-year-old son James Wisler Jr., enjoyed the nice weather during their 25-minute wait in a convertible.

“It’s organized, well-planned,” Wisler Sr. said. “I am really happy about it.”

However, his son, who was in the back seat, didn’t seem too thrilled, especially after getting poked. A worker gave him a sticker that said, “I just got a shot — hero,” but that didn’t cheer him up or stop the tears.

Partridge said he was a little disappointed in the turnout. They were planning for about 1,000 people.

“We had great weather, maybe too perfect,” he said.

Partridge estimated the clinic cost $4,000, so he wasn’t sure if they would offer it again next year.

Kansas University Hospital will offer free flu shots during its 16th annual Drive-Thru Flu Shot clinic on Saturday, Oct. 30.

The event will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot just east of the intersection of 36th and Rainbow Boulevard in Kansas City, Kan.

No appointment is necessary; simply drive to 36th Street and Rainbow Boulevard and follow the signs.

The clinic is available to anyone 8 years and older.

This year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone 6 months and older receive the flu vaccine.

The hospital has 7,000 doses available, double the amount of last year’s event.

Although the flu shots are free, the hospital will also accept donations and non-perishable food items for Harvesters Community Food Network, which supplies food to Just Food, Douglas County’s food bank.

KU Hospital leaders provided insight and information that helped in planning Lawrence's first drive-through flu shot clinic. The clinic will be from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 16, in KU's Park and Ride Lot at the northwest corner of Clinton Parkway and Iowa Street.

Need a flu shot?

Then, you won’t want to miss Lawrence’s first drive-through clinic on Saturday.

You just drive up, turn in a vaccine consent form, and roll up your sleeve. The best part: It’s free.

The clinic will be from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. in Kansas University’s Park and Ride Lot at the northwest corner of Clinton Parkway and Iowa Street. Participants should enter from Clinton Parkway.

The Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department encourages participants to wear loose sleeves that roll up easily and to fill out a vaccine consent form beforehand to expedite the process. Forms are available on the department’s website at www.ldchealth.org. They also can be picked up at the clinic, which is on the first floor of the Community Health Facility, 200 Maine, and at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt.

The clinic will be held rain or shine and will serve as a public health emergency training exercise for health department staff, the Douglas County Medical Reserve Corps, and community volunteers.

Lisa Horn, health department spokeswoman, said they will not give vaccine in nasal spray form.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that everyone ages 6 months and older receive the flu vaccine.

“Getting a flu vaccine not only protects you from being ill, but it also protects people who may not be able to receive the vaccine or who have a weakened immune system,” Horn said. “It’s especially important if you have a young child or an infant in your household.”

The health department also will be collecting nonperishable food items for Just Food, the Douglas County food bank that serves low-income residents and supplies other local pantries.

Sixth-year Kansas University pharmacy student, Andy Fikan, Atwood, Kan., administers a flu shot to Andrew Garcia, 80, Lawrence, during a flu clinic organized by Walgreens and the Kansas University School of Pharmacy, Tuesday, Sept. 7, 2010, at the Lawrence Senior Center, 745 Vt. Local health professionals are encouraging anyone 6 months and older to get a flu shot this year. by Nick Krug

Anyone 6 months and older should get a flu shot.

This year’s recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are that simple.

“We want everyone to get their flu shot as soon as they find the opportunity to get it done,” said Kathy Colson, registered nurse and immunization team leader with the Lawrence-Douglas County Health Department. “There’s been absolutely no talk of shortages. There seems to be a ton of vaccine out there.”

This year’s vaccine protects against three common flu viruses, including H1N1, which caused a pandemic last year.

Dr. Jason Eberhart-Phillips, state health officer, said the United States likely will not see the widespread, out-of-season outbreaks like last year. But, he said, the H1N1 strain is still active.

He said the best gauge for the upcoming season is to look at what’s going on in the southern hemisphere, where it is flu season.

“We are going back to the pre-pandemic mixed pattern, but we have this new kid on the block who’s still able to cause a lot of disease.”

In New Zealand, he said, there are areas that were spared from H1N1 last year, but that are having pretty intense activity this year.

“So, clearly, the people who didn’t get it the first time are at risk of getting it this time around, if the same pattern holds in the northern hemisphere, four or five months from now,” Eberhart-Phillips said.

The flu season here is typically October through April, and it peaks in January and February.

Still, health professionals advise people to get a vaccine as soon as possible. The vaccine will last through the season. It takes about two weeks to build up immunity to the strains in the vaccine.

“It’s the best protection that we’ve got. It’s a relatively small price to pay — if you are paying anything for it — compared to the cost of a few days of misery at home away from work and away from doing the things that you like to do,” Eberhart-Phillips said.

Many retail pharmacies such as Walgreens, Dillons and Sigler Pharmacy are offering them. A new state law allows pharmacists to give flu shots to anyone 6 years old and older. Before, 18 was the age limit. For children 5 years old and younger, they need to get the vaccine from their health care provider.

“We are certainly trying to increase our business,” said Pat Hubbell, co-owner of Sigler Pharmacy. “And it’s another way to get folks vaccinated.”

Hubbell has given only a handful so far this year, but he anticipates the demand will pick up. Last year, the two pharmacies provided 2,500 flu shots.

Colson urges people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and others.

“If you’ve ever had the flu, you will know that you don’t want to go through that again. It is a respiratory illness. It can be quite deadly to the very old or the very young,” she said. “It’s not just you that you have to think about. It’s all the people around you and who you affect.”

The health department expects to get shipments of the vaccine in a couple of weeks. It will have a community clinic in Baldwin, Eudora and Lawrence, but the dates haven’t been set. It expects the cost to be $28, but the health department doesn’t turn anyone away for inability to pay.