(WXYZ) - The phone is ringing a lot more often at Dr. Vinaya Gavini’s office these days. Parents are calling the Providence Park pediatrician with questions about the H1N1 vaccine.
He told us the number one question is when will it be available for administration in his office. The second most popular question is whether it is safe to get it.
The answer to the first question is: many doctor’s offices should get a limited supply in about a week.
And when parents ask about the safety of the vaccine, Dr. Gavini re-assures them. “I am recommending it. It’s all about risk and benefit. There are risk factors and if we don’t immunize a majority of the population, there’s going to be pandemic, and pandemics are not funny because they are very dangerous, they’re going to cause a lot of death and destruction in human life.”
The first doses to become available are Flu Mist – which can be given to children over two with no underlying health issues.
An no matter what the form, younger children will need two doses.
Dr. Gavini explained “Children less than 10 years old will get two shots, a month apart whereas the ones older than 10 years will get only one shot
Dr. Gavini expects his office to be busy until the end of flu season given his experience last flu season. “We had about 25 positives and that’s huge in my practice, that’s huge, huge numbers.”
Flu Hotline numbers for County Health Departments are:
Wayne County: 734 727-7163
Oakland County: 800 434-3358
Macomb County: 586 466-7923
