Tulsa World: Swine flu cases in slowdown

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Swine flu cases in slowdown
Hospitalizations have dropped across the state, a health official says.

By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer
Published: 11/24/2009 2:23 AM
Last Modified: 11/24/2009 9:59 AM

Swine flu circulation in Oklahoma may have hit its peak — at least for now, health officials say.

"In fact, we are seeing it slow down," said Larry Weatherford, spokesman for the Oklahoma State Department of Health. "But the nature of pandemics is they arrive in waves."

Hospitalizations have dropped significantly each of the last three weeks, from 128 to 46 since the last week of October, he said. Since Sept. 1, 918 Oklahomans have been hospitalized due to complications from swine flu; 506 of those were children, state data show.

Although the number of deaths remained high in recent weeks, Weatherford said the state reports deaths when they are verified rather than when they occurred. There is often a lag between when the death occurred and when the state is able to verify the cause as H1N1 virus, he said.

Weatherford said the slowdown in the circulation of the novel virus gives people a chance to get vaccinated in the event another wave of swine flu comes through.

Although the state typically doesn't track seasonal flu, a death from the seasonal variety was noted last week.

"It's not as if we're seeing more of it," Weatherford said. There have been few cases of seasonal flu in the state. It generally emerges in late November and stays through March, peaking in January or February, he said.

Oklahoma is one of the few, if not the only state, offering its swine flu vaccine to anybody who wants it, Weatherford said.

The state opened access to the vaccine to everybody last week.

So far, 34 Oklahomans have died of swine flu complications. Of those, 24 people had documented underlying conditions that may have increased their risk of complications or death from the new virus, according to state data.

The most common underlying conditions among those who died were asthma or other respiratory illnesses, diabetes, obesity or immune-compromising conditions, state data shows.

Nine of those who died were children, 12 were adults between 25 and 49 years of age, eight were adults between 50 and 64 years of age, and five were 65 or older, data shows.

Where to get your H1N1 vaccination:

Tuesday, 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., expo exchange Center. Those wanting the vaccine should enter at 21st Street between Harvard and Yale avenues at Gate 12. The clinic entrance is on the west side of the expo exchange Center building.

Dec. 3, 3p.m. to 7 p.m., Tulsa Community College West campus, 7505 W. 41st St.

Dec. 12, 9 a.m. to noon, Oral Roberts University’s Mabee Center, 7777 S. Lewis Ave.

Pregnant women and children younger than 10 who need a booster vaccination can go to the Tulsa Health Department’s walk-in clinics from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.:

James O. Goodwin Health Center, 5051 S. 129th East Ave.

Central regional Health Center, 315 S. Utica Ave.

Expo Square Health Center, 4616 E. 15th St.

For a complete list of H1N1 vaccine clinics across the state, visit tulsaworld.com/swinefluclinics.

For more information, call the flu hot line 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at 595-4500 or 582-9355 or visit tulsaworld.com/swineflu.

Kim Archer 581-8315
kim.archer@tulsaworld.com By KIM ARCHER World Staff Writer

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Some reader comments for this story were copied from "Free H1N1 vaccine clinic Tuesday in Tulsa," which was published on 11/23/2009.

	Report Comment Rimshot, Corn, OK (11/23/2009 1:00:32 PM) Free for whom?
	Report Comment Aggie, (11/23/2009 11:20:28 PM) Uh-oh, free = long lines. Good point, Rimshot. Free just means that someone else is footing the bill.
	Report Comment Elusive, Owasso (11/24/2009 1:48:02 AM) Bad timing right before Thanksgiving, how about next week?
	Report Comment fld11, (11/24/2009 10:15:16 AM) Simply more government hype. Remember the bird flu a few years ago that was going to kill thousands of Oklahomans? This is not a big deal at all folks, just a little government spin to keep you dependent on them for you everyday needs.
	Report Comment WWJD, (11/24/2009 11:30:57 AM) Funny we run out of vaccine and the case numbers drop...hmmm!
	Report Comment Flyover Me, (11/24/2009 1:58:49 PM) fld11: You're right. You get sick and die from H1N1 would be no big deal. However, 500 children hospitalized since Sept. 1 in Oklahoma. Um, tell the parents that's no big deal, dufus.
	Report Comment mayor_maynot, Tulsa (11/24/2009 6:58:13 PM) Sooooooo33333333 flu nothing to zneeze@. I bet if you get it and get by it will really reinforce your immune system. My thoughts about the common cold are ;-) the common cold is the reagent that keeps our immune system current with the rest of the globe. Maybe the only thing that stands between us and the unknown. Seortufa union.
	Report Comment fcol, (11/25/2009 6:31:13 AM) Sheeze, it's a novel virus, not a political strategy. Way too many young people have fallen to novel H1N1. Being a novel virus, it's anything but stable. If we're lucky, it won't become more dangerous than it is now. BTW, H5N1 (bird flu) is still out there and still killing people in countries where it's endemic. Fortunately, it's method of infection so far has been bird to human, not human to human. If H5N1 were to combine with H1N1, we could all be in deep doodoo. H5N1 is very lethal and H1N1 spreads very easily. Let's hope we remain lucky. No politics necessary, it's mother nature.
	Report Comment Claudine, Tulsa (11/26/2009 10:23:09 AM) Went to the free clinic on Tuesday at the Exchange Center. The line was out the door and down the street. Surely there was some space inside that immense building for those in line to be out of the cold wind and weather. If they were not sick when they arrived, they certainly took a chance staying in line out in that weather. Hope the free clinic next Thursday has a warm place to wait.
	Report Comment Elusive, Owasso (11/30/2009 12:55:16 AM) Glad it is slowing down.

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