The number of states reporting "widespread" flu activity—the worst rating a state can receive in the federal government's six-tiered system—dropped from 43 to 32 on Monday when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported results for the week of Nov. 15-21.
But Idaho wasn't one of those crossed off the high-risk list.
According to the CDC, the state was still seeing widespread flu activity for that week.
The CDC divides the country into 10 regions, with Idaho being part of Region 10, which also includes Alaska, Oregon and Washington. The region had the second highest percentage of patients coming in for influenza-like illnesses, at 40 percent for the past three weeks, with the national average being 20 percent.
The CDC said the vast majority of the nation's reported flu cases were H1N1, and not seasonal flu.
But the CDC also reported Nov. 15-21 as the fourth consecutive week of national decreases in influenza-like illness after four consecutive weeks of sharp increases.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare continues to report H1N1 infections, with 28 infections reported during that same week, bringing Idaho's total confirmed cases to 796 since the Sept. 1, with 15 deaths to date.
But the CDC said confirmed-case tallies continue to be an undercount of the actual number because the majority of patients showing flu-like symptoms aren't tested unless patients are in failing health. After infection, treatment is the same as seasonal flu, and the vaccine won't help.
Due to continued vaccine shortages, the South Central Public Health District—which oversees Blaine County and seven other counties to the south—is still only giving the vaccine to high-risk groups, such as pregnant women, health care providers and children.
The CDC reported pediatric deaths as being 84 percent of all H1N1 deaths in America since the outbreak, or 198 out of 234 total deaths attributed to H1N1.
The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported children younger than 10 as the age group with the highest number of hospitalizations in the state, with 99. The second highest hospitalization number was 50- to 59-year-olds, with 51.
Linda Lubeck, senior public health nurse for the district, said the district has been administering the vaccine for free at schools to limit children's infection. She said 1,210 students took part in a clinic in Hailey for all of Blaine County's schools on Nov. 20. The Carey School vaccinated 235 students, bringing the county's total to 1,445 students vaccinated out of 3,316 enrolled.
Lubeck said there have been no complications reported as a result of the vaccine given to children.
"The vaccine is very safe," she said.
She said those younger than 10 will receive a second dose because they don't have the immune history of dealing with the flu to prepare them for it. She said this procedure is the same as the seasonal flu vaccine for that age group.
Lubeck said the general public wouldn't be offered the vaccine until mid-December to ensure that all the high-risk groups are reached. That takes time with vaccine shipments coming in weekly, and for the past few months at an unreliable pace.
As of Nov. 24, Idaho had received 271,300 doses of H1N1 vaccine, and has distributed doses to health districts and hospitals based on population.
Lubeck said shipments of the H1N1 vaccine have picked up in the last few weeks, with the district receiving more than 31,200 doses from the state as of Nov. 30, with 4,300 more doses expected Dec. 1.
About 15,130 of those doses have been used in school vaccination clinics, and 4,830 have been allocated to providers for high-risk patients. The district has reserved 4,000 doses to be used in six more school clinics to occur this week.
St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center has stopped asking for H1N1 shipments, according to Director of Infection Prevention Jo Dee Alverson. She said the entire hospital staff has been vaccinated, and St. Luke's' clinics in Hailey and Ketchum will be providing the vaccine to patients.
"But they still haven't gotten enough doses for the general public," she said.
As the health district is doing, St. Luke's' clinics are making certain high-risk groups have a chance to be vaccinated before opening the floodgates for everyone else to come rushing in. However, Alverson said the clinics are receiving a steady stream of doses each week. She said the switch to vaccinating everyone should occur within weeks.
"But it all goes by when we get the doses," she said.
Trevon Milliard: tmilliard@mtexpress.com
