H1N1 clinic scheduled for Saturday

Tesa Culli

Nov. 5, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- MT. VERNON -- An H1N1 flu vaccination clinic is being held Saturday at the Jefferson County Health Department.

The health department has received 1,000 doses of the H1N1 vaccine, and more supplies, including those without preservatives, are expected later this month. The first clinic will be restricted to students from District 80, but the Saturday clinic is available for high risk populations which have been targeted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control: pregnant women; people who live with or provide care for infants younger than 6 months old, such as parents, siblings and day care providers; health care and emergency medical services personnel; people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years of age; and those over the age of 25 through 65 years old who have medical conditions associated with a higher risk of complications due to influenza.

The clinic will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. or until supplies of the vaccine last on Saturday at the Health Department. All H1N1 vaccination clinics are free.

Health officials state that children under 10-years-old who receive the H1N1 vaccination will need to get a second dose in about four weeks to get complete protection from the virus, however, the first dose will provide some protection until the next shipments of the vaccine are received.

After the next shipments of the vaccine are received and the targeted populations covered through clinics, the vaccination will be made available to healthy persons between the ages of 25 and 64 years of age and to those who are 65 years of age and older.

According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, the CDC does not expect a shortage of vaccine, but availability and demand can be unpredictable. In addition, residents are cautioned the H1N1 vaccine is not intended to replace the seasonal flu vaccine, but is intended to be used in conjunction with the seasonal flu vaccine to offer more complete protection.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0392-39477502