County health departments in district to begin seasonal flu vaccinations Oct. 9
Southwest Public Health District’s 14 county health departments will begin offering seasonal influenza vaccinations on Tuesday, Oct. 9, says District Health Director Dr. Jacqueline Grant.
“We urge residents to make use of the same-day appointment system and schedule their shots with their health departments,” she said. “That way you will know when you come in that the vaccine is on hand.”
Vaccine manufacturers, rather than Public Health, control shipment dates, she pointed out. Often, multiple shipments are required for the complete delivery of vaccines to county health departments.
Grant said the district anticipates having vaccine available for everyone who wants to be immunized. “We have no recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control at this time regarding prioritizing certain populations to receive vaccinations first.” Seasonal influenza vaccinations are appropriate for:
All persons, including school-aged children, who want to reduce the risk of becoming ill with influenza or of transmitting influenza to others
- Children aged 6 months to 4 years old
- Persons aged 50 or older
- Children and adolescents (aged 6 months to 18 years) receiving long-term aspirin therapy who therefore might be at risk for experiencing Reye syndrome after influenza virus infection
- Women who will be pregnant during the influenza season
- Adults and children who have chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, hematological or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus)
- Adults and children who have immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus)
- Adults and children who have any condition (e.g., cognitive dysfunction, spinal cord injuries, seizure disorders, or other neuromuscular disorders) that can compromise respiratory function or the handling of respiratory secretions or that can increase the risk for aspiration
- Residents of nursing homes and other chronic-care facilities
- Health-care personnel
- Healthy household contacts (including children) and caregivers of children less than 5 years old and adults aged 50 and older
