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Town And Country Pediatrics, S. C. |
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Eighteen Board Certified pediatricians, two certified pediatric nurse practitioners
and two Child/Adolescent and Family Therapists.
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Halsted Office |
1460 N. Halsted Suite
Suite 402
Chicago, IL 60642
Phone: 312-279-8900
Fax: 312-981-6312
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Glenview Office |
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401 Ravine Way
Suite 103
Glenview, IL 60025
Tel: 847-998-8806
Fax: 847-998-8807
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Lincoln Office |
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6374 N. Lincoln Avenue
Suite 204
Chicago, IL 60659
Tel: 773-478-1067
Fax: 773-478-4916
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Greetings!
Town and Country Pediatrics is anticipating our first, but EXTREMELY LIMITED, shipment of H1N1 vaccine.
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The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued very strict guidelines regarding the distribution of this vaccine. We ordered ample vaccine doses for our patients, however, due to current supply limitations; we will only receive approximately 2% of our original order.
This initial supply of the H1N1 vaccine will be in "Flumist" form. This will be designated ONLY for HEALTHY CHILDREN ages 24-48 months who ALSO currently have a sibling under 6 months of age. Given the "Flumist" formulation, the same contraindications for this vaccine apply as for the seasonal Flumist: Children < 24 months, children with EGG ALLERGY, and those with chronic medical conditions (including asthma) may NOT receive the Flumist vaccine. The minimum interval between any mist vaccinations must be 4 weeks.
We will attempt to begin contacting these families by email and/or phone to coordinate vaccine administration in a week or two. If you feel that your child fits BOTH criteria, please call our office if you have not been contacted by November 2, 2009. Given our very limited supply, we will not vaccinate children until the sibling has been born.
Should you decide to receive the vaccine, you will be responsible for administration fees as determined by your specific insurance carrier.
Unfortunately, we have no further information at this time regarding future shipments of the H1N1 or the seasonal
influenza vaccine. We will continue to keep you informed if we receive more vaccine. Our guidelines and target groups likely will change as we receive different forms and quantity of H1N1 vaccine
. Many seasonal flu vaccine orders have been incomplete to providers as vaccine manufacturers directed their resources to expedite the H1N1 vaccine production. Please be aware that we are in continual communication with our vaccine suppliers and will update you on our website/ email as more information becomes available to us.
We strongly encourage you to seek out both vaccines from other resources in our area. The Chicago Department of Health has designated 311 to help locate public health and retail vaccination clinics. This information is also available at www.cityofchicago.org/swineflu
We have seen several cases of influenza-like illnesses, presumably due to H1N1 (as it is too early for seasonal flu). These cases, so far, have been mild and self-limiting. We do NOT necessarily need to see your child in the office if you suspect your child has flu (fever, cough, muscle aches, runny nose, and possibly vomiting and diarrhea). REMEMBER-we, at Town and Country Pediatrics believe that you know your child better than anyone. If you perceive your child is getting increasingly more ill, please call the office for a same day sick appointment. We encourage you to refer to the CDC website http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/qa.htm or our website to help guide you in caring for your child at home.
We will be following the CDC guidelines for testing for influenza and treatment, as described in part 2 of a separate email to go out shortly. PLEASE READ PART TWO OF THIS EMAIL THOROUGHLY.
We are trying our best to serve your children during this difficult time. We understand your frustration and anxiety. We hope that you understand and respect the need to target our most at risk population with our current severely limited supply of vaccine.
Please try to refer to the above online resources to answer your questions, whenever possible.
We will continue to update you as information becomes available.
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Halsted Office 312-279-8900
Glenview Office 847-998-8806
Lincoln Office 773-478-1067
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