Wright County offers H1N1 children’s vaccinations

Wright County Public Health (WCPH) is joining many other health departments across the state offering an H1N1 vaccination clinic for children age 9 and under. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) recently made the announcement about this state-wide campaign.

The first mass vaccination clinic in Wright County will be held on Tuesday, November 17, from 3 – 7 p.m. at the Buffalo Community Middle School. The address of the school is 1300 Hwy. 25 N in Buffalo and is located across Hwy. 25 from the Buffalo Wal-Mart. Appointments will not be taken. Vaccine will be given on a first-come, first-served basis. WCPH officials recommend that parents plan to have some waiting time as there may be lines. Getting the vaccine is voluntary and a parent must be to present to sign a consent form.

This clinic is open to any child age 9 and under from any Wright County school district. MDH made the decision to offer the H1N1 vaccine to children 9 and under before older children since they need to have two vaccines at least four weeks apart. Both FluMist nasal spray and an injectable vaccine will be available, but most of the vaccine will be in the form of FluMist. Children must be at least six months of age to be vaccinated. Children aged six months up to the second birthday will receive an injection, as will children with underlying health conditions such as asthma, diabetes or who are immuno-compromised.

At the time of the clinic on November 17, WCPH will have a limited amount of vaccine on hand so just one location was chosen. It is anticipated that when more vaccine is available in December another location will be used for the next school-located clinic. That date has not been chosen yet.

There will be no cost to the family for the vaccine as it is provided free by the federal government. Participants are asked to bring their insurance cards as Public Health may collect an administration fee from insurance companies to help cover employee costs.

There have been many people ill this fall with “influenza-like illness” known in medical circles as ILI. It takes up to five days for a clinic to get results back from the PCR test that can determine which exact type of influenza a person has. Because of the time factor, clinics are typically not using this test. Rather, a clinician may make a diagnosis based on symptoms or may perform a “rapid test” which will tell if a person has a Type A or B influenza, but this is only 50% accurate. For these reasons, a person may not know for sure if they have had H1N1 influenza. People who have been ill with ILI should still receive the H1N1 vaccination and be protected in case that is not the form of influenza that they had. Treatment of influenza is the same regardless of the strain of virus, whether it is seasonal flu or H1N1 flu.

It is important not to receive a vaccination if a person is ill, has a fever, is on antiviral medication or has a known allergy to eggs.

The H1N1 flu shot clinic will be operated by WCPH staff. Volunteers are needed to assist at the clinics. Registered nurses are needed to help give shots and others are needed to help with different parts of the clinic. Sign up at www.mnresponds.org. WCPH uses Minnesota Responds when calling up volunteers.

H1N1 vaccine has begun to arrive at local Wright County medical clinics. This vaccine can be used for specific groups of people defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and MDH. Due to limited vaccine and types available (nasal spray vs. injection for children or adults), not all clinics may be able to serve each of these groups:

•pregnant women,

•persons who live with or provide care for infants aged less than 6 months,

•health care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients or infectious material,

•children aged 6 months through 4 years, and

•children and adolescents aged 5-18 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

Please be patient as clinics continue to receive additional supplies of vaccine in the coming weeks.

WCPH has an Influenza Vaccine Information Line at 763-684-2335. This message line is updated regularly as vaccine information changes. Other than the November 17th clinic for children age 9 and under, no other public clinics are planned until more vaccine arrives.

The Wright County website at www.co.wright.mn.us has an information page on influenza and will be updated as more influenza vaccine arrives in the county.

The CDC website at www.flu.gov and the MDH website at www.mdhflu.com can be consulted for the most current information on influenza.

MDH also operates the Minnesota Flu Line. By calling 1-866-259-4655 people who are feeling ill can talk to a nurse to get answers to their questions about flu symptoms and treatment options.

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