H1N1 complications kill 3 more

Kim Archer

Nov. 6, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Three Oklahomans died of complications from the H1N1 virus last week, bringing the state's death toll to 21, health officials said Thursday.

A Kay County man who died before the state began keeping track of swine-flu deaths is not included in the official tally of 20.

Last week, one child and two adults -- one between 50 and 64 years old and the other older than 65 -- died from complications of swine flu. They were residents of Oklahoma, Cleveland and Muskogee counties, the state's weekly report shows.

A reported 128 people were hospitalized last week, bringing total hospitalizations from the virus to 804 in the state since Sept. 1, the report said.

The Health Department has set numerous vaccination clinics Saturday, offering the H1N1 vaccine first to those who are considered at higher risk for complications.

That leaves many people --including those older than 65 -- frustrated that they can't get the vaccination.

An Oklahoma woman wrote in an e-mail to the Tulsa World: "I am 65 and have been told by the public health personnel in Purcell that I cannot have the H1N1 vaccine because I am one year too old. What happened to age discrimination?"

Limited supplies have forced the Health Department to restrict distribution to the most vulnerable groups, said state epidemiologist Dr. Kristy Bradley.

"I hope she will view this as a temporary delay in getting vaccinated," she said of the e-mail writer.

Early on, federal epidemiologists determined that people older than 64 had some immunity to this virus, Bradley said. She pointed out that state hospitalization data support that determination.

In Oklahoma, 61 percent of all hospitalizations for swine flu has been among people younger than 24.

People older than 64 make up only 7 percent of the state's swine flu hospitalizations since Sept. 1, she said.

A study published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association questioned the premise that older people aren't as susceptible to complications.

Dr. Janice Louie, who led the study of 1,088 California patients who were hospitalized or died in the first 16 weeks of the pandemic, said: "One of the most important messages of this study is that H1N1 infection can be a severe illness, even if you don't necessarily have the risk factors for severe complications. Even healthy people can get sick and hospitalized.

"Another interesting fact we found is that there is the perception that the elderly are protected and have some preexisting immunity, when in fact, in our study, if the elderly were admitted and severely ill, they often ended up dying," she said.

Older people are definitely at higher risk of complications from seasonal flu, which hasn't yet spread widely in Oklahoma, Bradley said.

So far, state surveillance has picked up a few cases of influenza B in Oklahoma, but there have been no deaths from seasonal flu, she said.

Bradley said she also has been frustrated by limited supplies of H1N1 vaccine.

"It's hard for us. We want to be as fair and equitable across the board as we can," she said.

As soon as the state gets sufficient supplies, Bradley said she expects that the state Health Department will open up access to everyone.

The state expects to get 121,300 doses next week.

"That is very encouraging that the faucet is kind of opening wider for vaccine supply and distribution," Bradley said.

Saturday swine-flu vaccine clinics slated in Tulsa, Sapulpa

Tulsa: 9 a.m.-noon Saturday, Expo Square Exchange Center, 21st Street between Harvard and Yale avenues. Enter on the west side of the building.

Creek County: 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, Creek County Courthouse, 222 E. Dewey Ave., Sapulpa.

Who's eligible: Both clinics are open to children ages 6 months to 18 years; pregnant women; frontline health-care workers; parents of infants younger than 6 months; and adults ages 19 to 64 with chronic medical conditions.

For more: Call the Tulsa City- County Health Department's flu hot line at 595-4500 or 582- 9355; call the Oklahoma State Department of Health hot line at (866) 278-7134; or go online to tulsaworld.com/okhealth.

Kim Archer 581-8315 kim.archer@tulsaworld.com

Newstex ID: KRTB-0205-39516682