November 11, 2004|By Laura Cadiz | Laura Cadiz,SUN STAFF
The Howard County Health Department has received additional flu vaccine and has scheduled a vaccination clinic for tomorrow while planning others for later this month for people in high-risk categories.
After receiving more doses as part of a plan announced Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to distribute 10.3 million doses nationwide, the Health Department now has about 4,000 doses of vaccine and 1,500 doses of the FluMist nasal spray vaccine, said Dr. Penny Borenstein, the county health officer.
Tomorrow's clinic will begin at 9 a.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Howard County, 9325 Presbyterian Circle in Columbia.
The clinic is open to adults age 65 and older; people ages 19 to 64 who have a chronic medical condition (a doctor's letter on letterhead with an original signature or a prescription form is required); and pregnant women (a doctor's letter verifying pregnancy is required).
The county is planning additional clinics this month, when the vaccine will be available to other high-risk groups, including young children and their household contacts and caregivers.
During the beginning of the nationwide vaccine shortage this fall, the county had fewer than 200 doses of vaccine. But it received 3,000 last month from the first phase of the national redistribution plan by the CDC and vaccine manufacturer Aventis Pasteur. This week, the county received an additional 3,000 doses from the second redistribution phase.
Those 6,000 doses, combined with the 1,500 doses of FluMist, brought the total close to the 8,200 doses that the county had ordered, Borenstein said. However, because the public sector is receiving most of the vaccine, the supply is still down at private physicians' offices.
"So having just what we ordered is still potentially not enough to cover even the high-risk groups," said Borenstein, who estimates there are about 60,000 county residents who are in high-risk categories.
Borenstein said the county distributed about 2,000 doses during its first two clinics, held this month and last month.
"We have not had to turn people away from our clinics at this point," she said.
The flu shots cost $10 each, or a Medicare Part B card will be accepted as payment. Proof of residency and age, when needed, will be required.
Information on the clinics: the county Health Department's flu clinic information line, 410-313-6503; or check the department's Web site, www.hchealth.org.
