CDC Confirms Hepatitis A Case in Caribou
In light of the recent diagnosis of a food service worker with Hepatitis A, Cary Medical Center and Pines Health Services are working on procuring enough vaccine to hold clinics early in the week, beginning Monday afternoon May 20th making it quick and easy for you to get vaccinated. Vaccination is effective at preventing disease if given within 14 days of potential exposure. Those of you who ate at Burger Boy from May 6-13 will still be in the window to be vaccinated on Monday, May 20, 2019.
If you ate at Burger Boy from April 24 – May 3 and are outside of the window to be vaccinated and begin to develop symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fatigue, joint pain, yellow skin, dark urine, itching or clay colored stools, please contact your primary care provider for guidance or visit your local emergency room.
Further, Hepatitis A vaccine has been part of the routine childhood vaccination schedule since 1996. Please check your child’s vaccine records to see if they received the vaccine already. If they have had the full series of vaccine (2 shots) in the last 20 years, another vaccine is not necessary at this time.
We have been in touch with Burger Boy’s management to get an estimate on the number of vaccines needed and estimate around 2000 people are eligible to be vaccinated at this time. Burger Boy is in full support of our efforts. Please know that this can, unfortunately, happen at any restaurant. Burger Boy would have no way of knowing an employee was exposed or infected until the person developed symptoms. As an important part of our community, it is vital that we show Burger Boy our support during this time.
Dates and times for the vaccine clinics will be forthcoming shortly.
Thank you,
Dr. Regen Gallagher
Chief Medical Officer and Compliance Officer
Cary Medical Center
For the full health advisory statement from the Maine CDC, please visit:
www.maine.gov/dhhs/mecdc/health-advisory.shtml?id=1277110