Winnebago County gets first H1N1 vaccine shipment

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ROCKFORD — The Winnebago County Health Department received its initial shipment of H1N1 flu vaccine Friday and will begin offering it Monday to pregnant women and infants during
scheduled appointments in the WIC and Family Case Management programs.

Sue Fuller, the department’s public information officer, said the shipment included 500 doses of injectable vaccine and 1,500 doses of the nasal spray, known as the live attenuated influenza vaccine or LAIV. The department will offer the H1N1 vaccinations free of charge.

Clinics have been scheduled for health care workers and first responders, who will begin to receive the vaccine Tuesday.

Pregnant women, small children, and health care and emergency services workers are among the target groups identified as most at risk in the H1N1 flu outbreak.

Health Department Administrator Mike Bacon said health care workers are already being exposed to ill people in clinical settings.

“We ask members of our community who want to receive this vaccine to be patient as this program begins,” Bacon said. “There will be enough vaccine for all who wish to receive it, but initially we must protect those who are at greatest risk.”

Other groups identified as high-risk for the H1N1 virus include people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years, people who care for children younger than 6 months, and people age 25 through 64 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications.

Fuller said the vaccine will continue to arrive weekly in small quantities. As it comes in, she said, the department will begin a planned vaccination program for children in Winnebago County schools and day cares.

Plans also will be made for community vaccination clinics for others who are at risk of complications from the flu.

More information is available on the Health Department’s Web site, wchd.org. or by calling 815-720-4000.

MORE FLU COVERAGE
Special report: Find info on flu and H1N1 virus
Oct. 16: Vaccine shortfall pauses county clinics
Oct. 15: Rockford schools urge H1N1 vaccination