Congregates at the Aging Center, along with Aging Office trainees and staff, got their flu shots yesterday with the Department of Public Health\u2019s launch of its \u201cBee Wise Immunize\u201d campaign to fight the spread of the influenza virus.<\/p>\n
DPH Immunization Program manager Jeremy T. Sasamoto, immunization response coordinator Gloria Ramon, staff nurse Laurina Boyer, and community outreach worker Jeffrey Sablan were joined by Northern Marianas College nursing instructor Hervin Jacinto and freshman students Brittany Concepcion, Vachinaporn Ngainwong-Bagby, Nisha Shrestha, Wanda Sotomayor, and Carina Train in administering the vaccines at the center.<\/p>\n
Boyer said the immunization team brought 100 vaccines for the congregates, trainees, and staff.<\/p>\n
Those who got their flu shots were required to fill out or answer the patient encounter form, submit to a temperature and blood pressure check, and were asked if they are allergic to eggs.<\/p>\n
Felisa Basa, who was the first to line up for the immunization event held at the conference room, said that she got her last flu shot also through the same event last year.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery year, I have to take it. I don\u2019t want to lose it [the opportunity to get a flu shot],\u201d Basa, 81, told Saipan Tribune.<\/p>\n
Since she is scared of needles, Basa opted for the injection on her back. \u201cI don\u2019t want to see the needle so I wanted it on my back,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n
Kimo Jordan, who was also among the earliest to fall in line for the shot, said he also had flu shot last year. \u201cIt been effective so far.\u201d <\/p>\n
Sasamoto said that they launched this year\u2019s immunization campaign at the Aging Center since the man\u2019amko are among the priority groups for the flu vaccine. Other priority groups are children, pregnant women, first responders, and those with compromised immune systems.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey [man\u2019amko] are among our priority groups so we decided to launch it here. Because of their advanced age, they are more susceptible to flu,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Sasamoto disclosed that the DPH Immunization Program has already received 16,000 of the 19,500 flu shots they ordered from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, using the over $1 million funding they got to purchase vaccines. <\/p>\n
The remaining flu shots, he said, are expected to arrive within the week. Sasamoto added that they may also receive an additional 6,000 flu shots from the Department of Defense.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter that, we\u2019ll target the general public. But if they want the flu shots, they can go to the immunization clinic anytime. No appointment is needed,\u201d said Sasamoto.<\/p>\n
Sasamoto said that administering the flu shots now is timely since the flu season is from October to December, with last year\u2019s statistics showing that there were on average 30 flu patients every week from January to October.<\/p>\n
In November 2010, however, Sasamoto said there was a flu outbreak in the CNMI as the number of flu patients at the Commonwealth Health Center peaked at 123.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had a flu outbreak and we don\u2019t want that happening this year. We are catching it early now,\u201d said Sasamoto, adding that they hope to use all flu shots \u201cbefore the end of December.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Sasamoto, CHC has been averaging approximately 14 flu patients per week since August. \u201cFor this year, we\u2019re good. We\u2019re really low.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sasamoto emphasized that one way to prevent the spread of the influenza virus is to \u201calways wash their hands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a simple thing but it helps,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen sneezing, sneeze on your sleeves or tissue but never on your hands because it spreads the flu that way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aging director Rose Mondala said the immunization program is vital for senior citizens like her. \u201cIt\u2019s very important that we get our flu shots once a year. When you\u2019re a man\u2019amko and you get a flu, it\u2019s harder. So it\u2019s really important that we get everyone vaccinated, including the staff.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Congregates at the Aging Center, along with Aging Office trainees and staff, got their flu shots yesterday with the Department of Public Health\u2019s launch of its \u201cBee Wise Immunize\u201d campaign to fight the spread of the influenza virus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-155619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=155619"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/155619\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=155619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=155619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=155619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}