HEALTH: Niagara County investigating possible second swine flu death
Staff Reports The Tonawanda News
Niagara County health officials are investigating another suspected death related to the H1N1 flu virus.
Public Health Director Dan Stapleton confirmed Tuesday that his office is taking a closer look at a case involving an individual who may have died from complications related to the virus commonly called the swine flu.
Stapleton said the case involved the death of a local teen, but could not disclose any more information on Tuesday. He added the health department does expect to release additional information about the case today.
“All I can confirm is that there has been a death of a teenager from Niagara County,” Stapleton said.
Niagara-Wheatfield School District officials confirmed the death of a 10th-grader at the high school but said they have received no confirmation the death was H1N1-related.
“It is a tragic loss to the Niagara-Wheatfield family,” Superintendent Carl Militello said Tuesday night.
The health department confirmed the first H1N1 related death in the county last week. Officials said the virus contributed to the death of an eastern Niagara County resident who had underlying health problems.
In the meantime, the majority of those waiting for an H1N1 vaccine likely won’t see a dose until well into 2010, Stapleton said during Tuesday’s meeting of the county legislature.
Stapleton told lawmakers the scarcity of the vaccine has forced health officials to concentrate near-term delivery on members of priority vaccination groups, including younger people, caregivers of infants and pregnant women.
As a result, Stapleton said it is likely that county residents who do not fall into any of the risk categories for developing complications from the virus may have to wait until several months into 2010 before they are able to receive the H1N1 vaccine.
“It’s not a big secret to people that the vaccine is in very short supply and that is forcing us to do things a little differently than we normally would,” Stapleton said.
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