Swine-flu false alarms crowd Houston ERs Swine-flu false alarms crowd area ERs

If you have mild symptoms, doctors say it’s best to stay home

Parents panicked over whether their sick children might have swine flu are unnecessarily clogging Houston's emergency rooms, and supplies of the most popular flu symptom-fighting drug aren't meeting the region's demand, health officials said Thursday.

Waiting rooms at both children's hospitals in the Texas Medical Center are packed at levels typically seen in January, the peak of traditional flu season, officials said. Texas Children's Hospital opened an outdoor assessment center under a tent Wednesday afternoon to handle a 40 percent increase in patients. Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital has had an equivalent increase in flu patients, spokeswoman Jennifer Hart said, and there's been a significant uptick at Memorial Hermann's community hospitals.

Clinicians say the scene is similar to what happened in the spring, when the H1N1, also known as swine flu, broke out in Mexico and was transmitted across the globe. Children and young adults are especially at risk, having the highest rates of hospitalization and deaths.

Meanwhile, federal health officials on Thursday said the first swine flu vaccinations should be available in the coming weeks, though there won't initially be enough for everyone to be treated.

“We are likely to have some initial doses available the first full week in October,” said U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

Sebelius said 6 million to 7 million doses will be available in that initial batch. Priority will be given to those considered most vulnerable, including children, pregnant women and health workers.

By mid-October, roughly 40 million doses will be distributed, officials said. And every week thereafter, 10 million to 20 million doses will roll out across America.

The federal government has purchased 250 million vaccines, “enough for everyone in America who wants a vaccine,” Sebelius said.

H1N1 vaccine requests

While providers order seasonal flu vaccines directly from manufacturers, states are coordinating distribution of H1N1 vaccine. More than 1,700 providers in Harris County are among 11,000 in Texas that have requested H1N1 vaccine. Texas is expected to receive 14 million doses.

“We're working out details on how to do the distribution,” said Doug McBride, spokesman for the Texas Department of State Health Services.

Officials are predicting an especially deadly flu season.

“Some people, especially those who are very young, who have chronic health conditions and those who are pregnant continue to have a tough time with this disease,” said Dr. Anne Schuchat, immunization director for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We think severe cases and even deaths may be great this year.”

Such warnings are sending parents who would rather be safe than sorry to Houston hospitals. Local health officials, however, encourage patients to stay home and skip a trip to the ER or clinic if they have mild symptoms.

Instead, consider “telephone triage,” said Dr. Herminia Palacio, Harris County's public health authority.

She said patients and parents should ask: “Am I somebody who needs to come in to be seen or am I somebody who can really stay at home and manage myself?”

But, for someone seriously ill or with an underlying health condition, it's best to seek treatment immediately.

And for those who receive a prescription, Tamiflu — a drug that lessens symptoms and cuts illness by about one day — can be tough to find.

“I'm hearing from a lot of folks that the pharmacies don't have it,” said Dr. David Persse, the city of Houston's public health authority.

That's dangerous for people in high-risk groups.

“If they should develop symptoms, we want to make sure there's enough Tamiflu for those folks,” Persse said.

Whether it's injected or inhaled, the preventive doses purchased on the federal government's dime could still cost patients.

An administrative fee, which will vary and hover around $20 for Texans, can be charged to patients, Medicaid or private insurance.

The UT Physicians practice, which has requested 7,200 doses, doesn't plan to charge an administrative fee for established patients who want the vaccine, CEO Andrew Casas said. Other practices indicated they need to cover the costs of nurses' time.

On Thursday, health officials in Washington, D.C., and Houston implored people to take all precautions to avoid influenza: Stay isolated if you get sick, wash and sanitize hands frequently, avoid close contact and get both seasonal flu and swine flu shots.

“So for now, get your seasonal flu shot because that's available,” Palacio said. “When H1N1 vaccine become available, please look at that priority list. From the beginning, allow those people to come forward.”

cindy.george@chron.com