Oregon Public Broadcasting

Doctor’s clinics and hospitals around Oregon are getting a jump on flu season this year.

News of the Swine Flu virus has placed a spotlight on the issue: pushing vaccine manufacturers to send regular flu serum out earlier; and prompting families and school officials to get ready.

OPB's  Rob Manning will have an update on how schools are planning for the flu season, but first  Kristian Foden-Vencil talked to health officials about what families need to know.

The Broadway Medical Clinic in Northeast Portland has been offering flu shots since August. Sitting on an examination table, 11-year-old Jezreel Harper has just had his regular flu vaccination.

His mother, Lorie Harper, doesn’t know what to do about the swine flu vaccination, which is not yet available.

Lorie Harper: “I’ve thought about it. I’m just not quite sure what I will do because I don’t have all the information about the swine flu yet, and all the information that goes into it. I mean a lot of the times they blow up things really big and I’m just going to take it step-by-step.”

On the other side of the door, nurse Linda Huston leans over a phone, a stack of papers and a computer. She’s the point person for scheduling flu shots here.

Linda Huston: “Well it’s much earlier this year. And a lot of it has to do with the swine flu. The H1N1. So they’re calling about that. Do we have the vaccine for that? We do not. But we do have the vaccine for the regular flu. And we did get the vaccine extra early this year. Usually we don’t get it until the midpart of September to October. But this year, it came early, so people are asking about it. And then they have signs up people can see it’s available.”

George Bengston: “I think what we’re seeing is just a lot more parental concern aboutwhat we’re facing.”

Doctor George Bengston is a pediatrician here at Broadway Medical. And he says patients have a lot of questions this year.

George Benston: “How important is it going to be to get an influenza shot? When are we going to have the swine flu shot? Is it going to be dangerous? What are the complications going to be? And it’s frustrating because we really don’t know a whole lot yet. My sense is that we’re probably going to have less vaccine than we want, later than we want it. And we won’t know as much as we want to know about safety.”

What we do know is that most of us will probably have to face swine flu without a vaccine – at least to start with.That’s because when they do arrive,  initial shipments will be held for the sick; the elderly; the young and health care workers.

The Centers for Disease Control says the H1N1 virus could infect as many as 40 percent of the population -- because it’s a new virus we haven’t experienced before.

Health officials also say that anybody who gets a swine flu shot will need a booster injection --to build resistance. That’s two shots on top of the regular flu shot.

The CDC also says swine flu serum won’t be ready until at least mid October.

Oregon’s chief epidemiologist, Doctor Mel Kohn, concedes flu season is usually in full swing by then.

Mel Kohn: “Do I wish I had a vaccine today to give you?  Of course. But it does take some time for the vaccine to be produced and also to be tested and I think this virus is likely to circulate probably through much of the year so getting it out there as soon as we have it is still going to be quite useful.”

Since it’s a new vaccine, it will only have undergone short-term testing.

The last time a vaccine was quickly produced for a new strain of flu was in 1976. That serum was associated with an increased risk for the disease Guillain-Barre.

But Kohn doesn’t expect that to be a problem this time. In fact, he says he’ll be vaccinating his own kids.