Thursday, Nov. 12 2009 7:12PM
JKV to host H1N1 clinic
Emily Jarrett, Journal Staff
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ReprintThe Jackson County Health Department will host a free H1N1 flu clinic from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 17 at John Knox Village. Health department officials will be giving out the H1N1 vaccine to only those in high-risk groups, said director Jim Kelly.
High priority groups include pregnant women, people who live with or care for infants less than 6 months old, people ages 6 months to 24-years-old, healthcare and emergency personnel, and people 25 to 64-years-old who have chronic medical conditions, such as diabetes or asthma.
“Our long-range intention is that anyone can get the vaccine if they want it,” Kelly said. “But right now, I just don’t know when those shipments are coming in. We haven’t received the vaccine at the rate we originally thought we would.”
Kelly cautioned that though the H1N1 vaccine is in short supply, there is no reason to panic.
“We want people to be cautious but not panicked,” he said. “The CDC allocates the vaccine to the Missouri department of Health and Senior Services, then they allocate to us. We never really know when the shipments are coming in or how many vaccinations they’ll include. It’s just a waiting game at the moment.”
People ages 6 months to 24-years-old are one of the high priority groups that Kelly said should seriously consider getting the vaccination.
According to the Lee’s Summit R-7 School District, absence rates in the past few months have risen above normal for this time of year.
“Parents report ‘influenza-like symptoms which may or not be H1N1 specifically,” said Janice Phelan, community relations coordinator for the district.
At its highest peak, during the second week of October, 945 students were absent from school for flu symptoms, the district reports. Since then the number of absent students has declined, last week only 397 students were reported absent for flu symptoms.
“Based on our student enrollment of 17,238, our high of 945 students was around 5.5 percent,” Phelan said. “This past week was around 2.3 percent. Hopefully this downward trend will continue.”
The CDC recommends that sick people stay home and not go to emergency rooms, if they feel they have flu-like symptoms.
“If someone has a fever of over 101 degrees, despite taking fever reducers or they have persistent nausea and vomiting, then they should come to the ER,” said Dave Jensen, an emergency room doctor at Lee’s Summit Medical Center. “If you’re just feeling achey and run down, I recommend they take Tylenol, get lots of fluids and stay in bed.”
Jensen said H1N1 is nothing more than a different strain of the regular flu virus that circulates each winter. The only difference is how fast it’s spread.
“Normally, simple techniques like good hand washing and covering your mouth when you cough or sneeze are enough to keep many people well during this time of year,” he said. “But H1N1 is spreading like wildfire.”
“We’re doing all we can to get the H1N1 vaccine out to as many people as possible,” Kelly said. “Right now we’re just asking everyone to be patient.”
For more information about the H1N1 vaccine, go to www.jacohd.org.
To reach Journal reporter Emily Jarrett, call 816-282-7018 or e-mail ejarrett@lsjournal.com.
