Aside from serving his own practice, Kidfixers, in Syosset, Dr. Mesibov has served as a teaching attending physician at Long Island Jewish Schneiders' Children’s Hospital for more than two decades, is an attending pediatrician at the North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, and author of the book, "Where in the World Did You Hear That? A Pediatrician Separates Fact from Fiction." He can be reached at 516-921-2122, willmesi@prodigy.net and www.kidfixer.com.
By William Mesibov, MD
Our patients share both anxiety and confusion about the current state of the Flu epidemic. Has the epidemic reached Long Island? How can you tell the difference between the Flu and a cold with fever?
What about the Flu vaccine? Should the kids get it? Should they receive the seasonal vaccine and the swine vaccine or should they avoid it completely? Is the vaccine safe?
What about the availability of the vaccines? Is there a shortage? Why was my appointment to get the vaccine cancelled?
Here are some answers to these concerns:
The Flu epidemic has apparently not reached Long Island yet. We’ve seen very few children who are sick with Flu. Most kids who have tested positive to the in-office flu test have been college students. The Flu they have is imported from their schools, not locally acquired. We expect to have some form of Flu epidemic later in the year or early 2010.
When should a parent suspect Flu? There are no hard and fast rules but almost always, kids with Flu have high fever, cough, sore throat, headache and muscle pains. And those kids are pretty miserable, to boot. That’s not to say that all children who seem ill shouldn’t be brought to the doctor. There are other diseases which need to be evaluated, not just the Flu. And sometimes, kids can have Flu with vomiting, sore throat, slight fever and fussiness. But, in general, a happy kid with no fever just doesn’t have the Flu.
What about getting Flu shots? Are they safe? The answer is yes. Thousands have already been vaccinated and there appear to be no safety issues. And since infants and children up to the age of 18 appear to be in greatest danger of Flu complications, they are the ones most in need of protection. There are two types of vaccines: a live attenuated nasal spray and the traditional shot. Both give protection. A recent study suggested that the shot was more protective in adults than the nasal spray. Patients who have a history of wheezing can’t take the nasal spray.
So why have doctors in New York been cancelling appointments to give seasonal Flu shots? The manufacturers have temporarily run out of vaccine. Most doctors ordered enough vaccine for their patients but they haven’t received what they requested. Doctors have been surprised by this shortfall. We’ve been told by the manufacturers that deliveries will be resumed within a few weeks, in plenty of time to protect everyone from the upcoming Flu season. We have no reason to suspect that this isn’t true.
Supply of the H1N1 vaccine (the Swine vaccine) is now arriving in doctors’ offices, courtesy of the US Government and the NYS Dept of Health. So far, there haven’t been any indications that this vaccine will be in short supply.
