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Schools launch H1N1 vaccine campaign
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Vaccines to combat H1N1 have started arriving in Tuolumne County schools and should be in Calaveras County schools next week. As of Monday, about 140 vaccines had been given by the Tuolumne County Public Health Department. The health department received 600 doses of the vaccine in its nasal spray form about a week ago, and last Friday the county received an additional 2,800 doses of the vaccine both in the nasal and shot form. Meanwhile, the Calaveras County Public Health Department received a shipment of about 4,200 vaccines on Monday. Dr. Todd Stolp, public health officer for Tuolumne County, said youth are the highest category at risk for H1N1, also known as swine flu, so schools are being targeted first. For the regular seasonal flu, the highest complication rates occur in infants and those older than 65, while with H1N1 those most susceptible are infants and children, Stolp said. “We want to control the disease at that population first,” said Stolp, referring to young children. Stolp added that children are also known not to cover their mouths when they cough or wash their hands, therefore causing the disease to spread. Children ages 2 and older can use the nasal vaccine. Those under 10 need two vaccines separated by four weeks. Students across Tuolumne County have been sent home with information about the vaccine and a consent form for their parents to sign. Last Friday, students at Pinecrest and Belleview elementary schools received some of the county’s first vaccines. The health department will be giving vaccinations at Mother Lode Adventist Junior Academy today, followed by schools in Groveland on Wednesday and Columbia on Thursday. In Calaveras County, health officials are organizing school-based vaccine clinics to start on or after Nov. 4. They expect to vaccinate at two schools a day, with clinics lasting between two and four hours long, depending on the school’s size. "We predict 50 percent interest in parents wanting to get their children vaccinated,” said Dr. Dean Kelaita, public health officer for Calaveras County. Of Tuolumne County’s original shipment, about 500 vaccines have already been given to private health care providers. “The public and private health care community is working hand-in-hand to distribute the vaccines in the most efficient way possible,” Stolp said. Kelaita said some of Calaveras County’s vaccines will most likely be sent to Mark Twain St. Joseph’s Hospital in San Andreas to vaccinate health care workers. “We still anticipate more vaccine coming into the community,” he said.
Below is a schedule of when the H1N1 vaccine is expected to be given at Tuolumne County schools: |
