To prepare for the upcoming influenza season, the following plan has been formulated for influenza vaccination of UNMC, UMA and The Nebraska Medical Center staff and patients.
The first priority is to administer flu vaccine to high-risk patients and healthcare workers (HCWs) who care for them. The next tier of persons to receive vaccine are otherwise healthy elderly patients and other HCWs. Finally, vaccine will be offered to all others who wish to avoid morbidity associated with influenza (staff without patient contact, younger/healthy patients, etc.)
Vaccination timetable
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- Tier I — Oct 1 to Oct 31, vaccination of all high-risk patients* and HCWs directly involved in their care;
- Tier II — Nov 1 to Nov 15, vaccination of patients greater than 50 years of age and HCWs directly involved in their care; and
- Tier III — Nov 16 to Nov 30, vaccination of all others, including those with no patient or high-risk contacts.
Obviously, patients and staff should receive vaccine at a later date if they miss the target period. The timetable may change if the flu season appears earlier than usual.
Vaccination locations
Patients and staff can be vaccinated at the following locations:
Staff:Tier I — Vaccine will be distributed to high risk areas for administration. Tier II and III — Schedules for vaccine stations will be announced later.
Patients:The Nebraska Medical Center will have influenza vaccine available at the following locations: The Nebraska Medical Center Outpatient Clinics, UMA Community Clinics, Durham Outpatient Center, The Lied Treatment Center.
Additional information
1. The trivalent influenza vaccine recommended for the 2003-2004 season includes A/New Caledonia/20/99-like(H1N1), A/Panema/2007/99(H3N2), and B/Hong Kong/330/2001-like virus strains.
2. The vaccine is produced from inactivated virus (noninfectious).
3. Because the vaccine viruses are initially grown in embryonic hen’s eggs, the vaccine may contain small amounts of egg protein. Therefore, persons with allergic reactions to eggs should not receive vaccine.
4. Persons with acute febrile illness should not receive vaccine until their symptoms have abated.
5. The vaccine is approximately 70 percent to 90 percent effective in preventing influenza illness and has been shown to be cost effective. (The Nebraska Medical Center cost for vaccine is approximately $7.50 / dose).
6. The CDC recommends that flu vaccine should be administered to any person who wishes to reduce the likelihood of becoming ill with influenza. The vaccine can be administered to children as young as age 6 months.
7. Information regarding influenza, influenza vaccine, and influenza treatment can be found at:
Questions, more information
As additional information becomes available, updates will be submitted to UNMC Today and The Nebraska Medical Center Week. If you have any questions, contact The Nebraska Medical Center department of pharmacy (559-6041) or the department of healthcare epidemiology (559-5276).