INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River County Health Department will begin H1N1 influenza public vaccination clinics for residents in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) target groups, starting with clinics for children on Nov. 3, 4, and 5, from 5:30 – 8 p.m., at the Health Department’s Vero Beach facility at 1900 27th Street. The vaccination is voluntary and free.There will be a mass vaccination clinic for the five CDC target groups on Nov. 14 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Indian River County Fairgrounds. A second public mass vaccination clinic will be held later in November if IRCHD receives sufficient quantities of vaccine.
Next week’s clinics will be open to all children six months of age to school age and those children attending Indian River County schools through high school age. Those younger than 18 years of age cannot sign the required consent form and must be accompanied by a family member or legal guardian authorized to provide consent. Children represent one of the groups identified by the CDC as being at highest risk for complications related to H1N1 influenza. Children aged 6 months through 9 years need to receive two doses of the H1N1 vaccine separated by an interval of 28 days (minimum 21 days) in order to develop the same level of immunity that older people attain from a single dose.
A second round of children’s clinics is planned for Dec. 1 – 3, 5:30 to 8 p.m., at the IRCHD Vero Beach facility. All clinics are subject to vaccine availability.
Indian River County received its first shipment of H1N1 vaccine on Oct. 8, and so far it has been targeted to pediatricians and obstetricians. Pregnant women are another CDC priority group; others include household and caregiver contacts of children younger than six months of age, healthcare and emergency medical services personnel, persons aged six months through 24, and persons 25 through 64 who have medical conditions associated with a higher risk of influenza complications such as diabetes, heart disease, asthma, and kidney disease.
Production complications have limited delivery of H1N1 vaccine to the public health entities responsible for distribution. The Indian River County Health Department will have 400 doses available for each of the clinics for school children on Nov. 3, 4, and 5, and 1,500 doses for the public clinic on Nov. 14.
“Because we currently have limited amounts of vaccine, we are asking people to be patient and to understand that our first public mass vaccination clinic on the 14th is for those in the CDC’s priority groups: those who are at higher risk of disease or complications, those who are likely to come in contact with novel H1N1, and those who could infect young infants,” said Miranda Swanson, health department administrator.
All Indian River County H1N1 vaccination clinics will be posted on the IRCHD Web site, www.MyIRCHD.com, and the Florida Department of Health (DOH) H1N1 Web site, www.MyFluSafety.com. Public information about the H1N1 virus and vaccine also is available via the DOH H1N1 hotline: 1-877-352-3581.
