Louisiana Board of Pharmacy Takes Steps to Prepare Against H1N1

Earlier this month, Louisiana took precautions with the flu season upon them and shipped vaccinations for H1N1 throughout the state: more than 50 pharmacies in 31 parishes received the vaccination just in time for the winter months.  Louisiana has always been a state that is the hardest hit when diseases invade the country and federal programs have taken notice of this, indicating a shift in the structure of the vaccine’s release into the state. 

Walgreens locations in Louisiana began offering the vaccine to priority groups at the beginning of December in order to combat the rise of flu season later in the month.  Additionally, the Louisiana Board of Pharmacy authorized the release of the H1N1 vaccine into the many parishes so that they would not fall into an “at-risk” state later on in winter.   The board then teamed up with Walgreens to get the vaccine a speedy distribution to the parishes of Louisiana that were the highest priority and contained the most at-risk citizens. 

The inoculation effort of Louisiana has been followed by a number of states since the release of the vaccine.  The initiative which the board demonstrated by releasing the vaccine before the height of flu season is a telling sign of the preparedness and anxiety the state has, regarding the H1N1 virus.  The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy is only one of 50 boards that is in charge of the well-being of each state’s citizens and looks over the potential risks that may creep their way into the state.  The rise of H1N1 is one virus every state is currently looking at, and stock piles of the vaccines have run dry within many populous states around the country as worried parents and citizens have waited in lines for their vaccination shot (or spray). 

 

If you enjoyed this article, please bookmark it at del.icio.us »

This entry was posted on Monday, January 11th, 2010 at 2:04 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.