HomePoliticsS. NV DIRECTOR PERFORMED VACCINE STUDY ON CHILDREN Politics S. NV DIRECTOR PERFORMED VACCINE STUDY ON CHILDREN Aug 13, 2020 Rob Lauer Political Reporter A group of elected officials from Clark County, the City of North Las Vegas, the City of Las Vegas and Boulder City Council make up an governance advisory board of the Southern Nevada Health District, who then chose the Director of the SNHD. The current acting Director is Dr. Fermin Leguen. According to the SNHD Webpage: Dr. Fermin Leguen was appointed Acting District Health Officer of the Southern Nevada Health District on October 03, 2019. In this capacity, Dr. Leguen serves a population of over 2 million residents, which represents 70 percent of Nevada’s total population. Additionally, the Chief Health Officer is charged with safeguarding the public health of more than 40 million visitors to Las Vegas each year. Dr. Leguen first attended Medical School in Communist Cuba at the Instituto Superior de Ciencias Médicas de la Habana. From there he went to another Medical School in Costa Rica. He did his residency at John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. But what’s extremely interesting, is that he was hired in October 2019 and his claim to fame is a publication he contributed to about the H1N1Flu Vaccine and why some parents resist vaccines. Dr. Leguen is an expert in targeting minority groups with vaccine information. Dr. Leguen concluded in his study “Clear, reliable and consistent vaccine information to the public and health care providers and initiatives targeting minority groups may increase vaccination coverage among this population.” The Study: Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to assess factors influencing 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccination among a demographically diverse group of day care-aged children. Day care children were chosen because they were an initial target group for vaccination and are at higher risk of influenza infection than children cared for at home. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from March to May 2010 among parents of day care aged children in 13 day care facilities in Miami-Dade County. Data was collected by an anonymous self-administered two-page 20 question survey which consisted of demographic variables and information regarding 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine knowledge, attitude and acceptance. Data was analyzed using SAS to conduct both bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results: There were 773 participants in the study. The response rate ranged from 42% to 72.2% among day care centers. A total of 172 parents (22.3%) and 225 (29.1%) children had received the 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccine. Non-Hispanic White and Black parents were more likely to vaccinate their children than Hispanic and Haitian parents. Primary reasons for non-vaccination included vaccine safety (36.7%) and side effects (27.1%). Among parents who spoke with a health care professional, 274 (61.4%) stated the health care professional recommended the vaccine. Conclusion: Misperceptions about influenza vaccination among parents created a barrier to 2009 H1N1 influenza vaccination. Parents who got the vaccine, who believed the vaccine was safe and whose children had a chronic condition were more likely to immunize their children. Clear, reliable and consistent vaccine information to the public and health care providers and initiatives targeting minority groups may increase vaccination coverage among this population. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22542817/
