Patient Forms 
Great Destinations - Flu Vaccines
We no longer have the seasonal and H1N1 flu vaccines available for the 2009/2010 flu season. Please follow the link provided to locate the nearest Maricopa County Health Clinic.
http://www.maricopa.gov/Public_Health/ControlPrevention/Immunizations/Locations.aspx
FLU Info:
1) Immunize your children and yourself. The more people that are protected, the less likely it will affect your family.
2) Good and frequent hand-washing.
3) Be alert for early signs. If Influenza is caught within the first 48 hours, there are anti-viral medications that are very effective. After that timeframe the anti-viral medications do not work. So bring your child in at the first sign of illness including:
- High fever
- Chills
- Headache
- Body aches
- Fatigue
- Any of the above coupled with vomiting, diarrhea, runny nose, sore throat.
There are two major “types” of Influenza: Yearly and Swine (aka: novel; H1N1, 2009 H1N1). Yearly flu comes every year, usually in February or March in Arizona (but sometimes as early as December as it was 3 years ago). Yearly flu can be very dangerous, especially to children younger than five, or with chronic illnesses like Asthma, Kidney disease, Heart problems or other Immunological issues. This type kills 35-40,000 people each year!!!
The Yearly flu vaccine is made by combining three strains (picked 6 months ahead of the season on projections). As the flu hits and moves across the country, the strain will mutate. If the strain still matches (or is close enough) the vaccine will protect you from getting the flu (or lower the degree of illness). For those over two years, we recommend the flu mist. It also is made with three strains, but by being administered in the nose, it induces a secratory antibody called IgA. Studies show Flumist worked 86% on mismatched strains. The flu usually follows a biannual pattern where one year it is a mild season, the next much worse. Last year was very mild, so we are expecting a moderate to severe season.
Swine flu has been renamed “novel flu” or “2009 H1N1”. (There is a yearly H1N1 virus also) There are strains of influenza in different animal populations such as pigs and birds. They are highly infectious within the species, but do not cause serious disease. These strains have a hard time moving from animals to humans, but do so a few dozen times each year. Last year the virus did move from animal to humans that then in turn moved from human to human causing a rapid spread due to the newness of the strain (people had no immunity to this new virus, so it spreads fairly unencumbered.) The major fear of this virus is a re-enactment of the 1918 flu epidemic which killed more than 50 million people world wide. That was a very virulent strain in unusual circumstances (World War 1) with big groups of people huddled together. In our opinion this is a very unlikely scenario because our hygiene is much better, our medical care including antibiotics, ventilators and Intensive Care Units were non- existent then and we now have antiviral medications.
Symptoms of Novel/swine flu are identical and indistinguishable from yearly flu. They include fever, chills, headache, runny nose, cough, sore throat, body aches, fatigue, vomiting, and diarrhea. So Far during this outbreak, the severity of Novel swine flu has been less than yearly, especially in the pediatric population.
