Free clinic to be offered Dec. 28 in Pollock Pines

By Raheem Hosseini

Telegraph Correspondent

Vaccinations for the seasonal flu wrapped up at county schools and local clinics last week, while availability of the H1N1 vaccine has opened up to the general public.

Those were the two major pieces of a brief presentation from county health and administrative officials to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors last week.

No more vaccination clinics are planned for the seasonal strain of influenza, which causes about 36,000 American deaths a year, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

When it comes to the more notorious “swine flu,” El Dorado County followed a slightly different strategy than neighboring Sacramento County, which made H1N1 vaccines available to the general public sooner. After several weeks of making the vaccine available to only health care workers and sensitive populations, a county health official said there’s finally enough vaccine in supply to offer the masses.

“We weren’t getting a lot of vaccine coming in, but now it’s opening up and we can start doing mass vaccinations,” said Dr. Olivia Kasirye, the county’s chief health officer.

An H1N1 vaccination clinic was held Dec. 17 in Lake Tahoe. A second one is scheduled for Dec. 28 at the Pollock Pines Community Church from 1 to 4 p.m.

People can also consult their family doctors for the vaccine, Kasirye added. “Availability of the vaccine has increased over the past few weeks, so more doctor’s offices should have it now.”

The county didn’t receive any of the vaccine supply that has been recalled because of diminished potency issues. Diminished potency wouldn’t have presented a significant dilemma, said Kasirye, because that supply was administered to children between the ages of 6 months and 3 years, who require a second dose of vaccine.

To date, there have been 170 severe cases of swine flu reported in the county, 22 hospitalizations and one death, of a woman in her 50s.

The numbers aren’t a real reflection of H1N1 activity in the area, Kasirye said, because not all cases are tested or reported.

The business community has been advised to develop action plans in the event that the county’s workforce is significantly affected by the H1N1 flu. The county Health Services Department was available for guidance, though not many consulted it.

“A few businesses did, but I’d say that we dealt more with schools and daycare centers,” Kasirye said.

IF YOU GO

If you go

What: Free H1N1 flu

vaccination clinic

When: 1 to 4 p.m., Dec. 28

Where:

Pollock Pines Community Church, 6361 Pony Express Trail, Pollock Pines, in the Fellowship Hall

Details: After weeks of being available to sensitive groups, the swine flu vaccine is being opened up to the general public. Consult family practitioners and the El Dorado County Health Services Department for more information at edcgov.us/publichealth.