Hawaii health officials are urging high-risk groups to get vaccinated for the H1N1 virus, especially women who are pregnant.
There have been cases where pregnant women go to the doctor with minor respiratory symptoms and are told to go home.
But their condition quickly worsens.
“They come back the next day, and into the er not to their clinicians office, into the er, going into respiratory distress, immediately needed incubation, going to ICU, needing emergency C-section in the ICU as opposed to in labor and delivery and sometimes dying,” said Dr. Sarah Park, State Epidemiologist.
Health officials say the vaccine is proven to be safe and is the only way pregnant women can protect themselves and their babies from H1N1.
Others in the high risk groups include young children and the elderly.
Hawaii will receive 146,500 doses of the vaccine.
