Macomb County Announces Two Additional Communitywide H1N1 Flu Vaccine Clinics Saturday, Nov. 14 and 21; Clinic For Health Care Workers Only Set For Nov. 12

November 6, 2009

MT. CLEMENS, Mich., Nov. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Two additional large community H1N1 influenza clinics have been scheduled by the Macomb County Health Department, the department announced today. They will be held at Freedom Hill County Park in Sterling Heights Saturday, Nov. 14 and 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Freedom Hill is located at 14900 Metropolitan Parkway. At least 3,000 doses will be available free of charge at each of these clinics. Both the nasal spray and injectable versions of the vaccine will be offered.

In addition to these public clinics, a clinic for health care workers and health care volunteers only has been set up for Thursday, Nov. 12, from noon to 7 p.m., also at Freedom Hill. The county is defining health care workers as persons working in health care settings who have the potential for exposure to patients with influenza. This includes settings such as hospitals, nursing facilities, physicians' offices, outpatient clinics, dental offices and home health care.

Categories of workers include physicians, nurses, nursing assistants, physician assistants, medical assistants, therapists, technicians, emergency medical service personnel, dental personnel, pharmacists, laboratory personnel, autopsy personnel, students and trainees. Persons not directly involved in patient care, but potentially exposed to infectious agents that can be transmitted to and from health care workers, may also attend this clinic. Included are clerical, dietary, housekeeping and maintenance staff as well as hospital volunteers.

Forty thousand doses of both types of vaccine have also been distributed to hospitals and private physician offices in Macomb County that requested it through the H1N1 vaccine enrollment process established by the state. Many of these providers are pediatricians and OB/GYNs, which target two high-risk populations: young children and pregnant women. Call your physician's office to see if they have enrolled to receive vaccine for their patients.

All three clinics will offer both the injectable and nasal spray vaccine, free of charge. Macomb County continues to receive additional shipments of vaccine regularly. Please visit the Web site, www.macombcountymi.gov/publichealth or call the Macomb County flu hot line at 586.466.7923, regularly for updated clinic dates and locations.

Due to limited availability of vaccine, the Macomb County Health Department is serving only those in the following high-risk groups at this time through the Saturday clinics:

INJECTABLE VACCINE

    --  Pregnant women
    --  New parents and household contacts of children less than 6 months of age
    --  Healthy children and young adults 6 months through 24 years of age
    --  Health care and emergency medical services workers (regardless of age)

    --  Adults ages 25 to 64 years of age with high-risk medical conditions that
        increase risk of complications from influenza

NASAL VACCINE

Healthy, nonpregnant persons who:

    --  Are from 2 through 24 years of age
    --  Are from 25 through 49 years of age and live with or care for infants
        younger than 6 months of age

    --  Are health care or emergency medical services workers and are from 25
        through 49 years of age

Children under 10 years old need two doses of vaccine to receive adequate immunity. These children need to wait at least 28 days before receiving the second dose.

(Editor's note: There is also a communitywide clinic TOMORROW, Sat., Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Freedom Hill. At least 3,000 doses of vaccine will be available there free of charge. Both the nasal spray and injectable versions of the vaccine will be offered.)

SOURCE Macomb County Health Department