By Stan Matthews
County Communications Program Manager
The San Juan County Health and Community Services Department (HCS) is now urging all County residents under the age of 25 to call for an appointment to be vaccinated against the H1N1 flu. Contact information for vaccine sites is available on the County’s web site at https://sanjuanco.com/flu/h1n1vaccine.aspx.
County Health Nurse Susan Leff, who is coordinating the distribution of flu vaccine within the County, reports that shipments of the vaccine are now arriving regularly with more than 1,200 total doses received to date and 400 more doses expected early next week.
The County distributes the vaccine through health care providers and HCS offices and conducts clinics for targeted groups.
Leff says the available vaccine still needs to be reserved for members of the groups identified as most at risk, but as more vaccine is received, more people will be included in those groups. The groups now listed as priority for vaccination are:
- All children and young adults between the ages of 6 months and 25 years
- Pregnant women
- Caregivers of children less than six months
- Health care workers and emergency medical responders with direct patient care
Until today, healthy youths and young adults were not part of the priority group. Unlike most normal seasonal flu, young people have proven to be at greater risk of health problems than older adults.
School absence rates and reports of students with flu-like symptoms have increased significantly on San Juan and Orcas Islands during the past three weeks. Public health nurses are now concentrating their efforts on in-school vaccination clinics for elementary through high school age children.
Though the number of H1N1 cases within the County is growing, there have been no reports of flu-related hospitalizations or deaths.
Especially while the availability vaccine is still restricted, health officials continue to emphasize the need to take these effective, common sense steps to avoid spreading the disease.
1) Wash your hands frequently
2) Cover your cough
3) Stay home if you are sick
4) Call before going to your health care provider’s office if you have a cough and fever or sore throat.
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