Get in Line to Fight the Swine
H1N1vaccine clinics set for Bay Area counties
By JESSICA GREENE
Updated 2:41 PM PST, Fri, Oct 30, 2009
The sound of a sneeze in a public place these days can send chills down your spine.
"Does that person have swine flu?" Is a common thought, as the CDC recently announced the number of confirmed cases in the U.S. at about 6 million.
Vaccines for the H1N1 virus have been slow on arrival. The state health department announced Thursday that they have adjusted the way they dole out the vaccine so it will be more evenly distributed throughout the state.
Concerned San Franciscans lined up in the cold outside public health clinics Thursday night for the first shot at the shot. About 28,000 doses of the vaccine have been delivered to the San Francisco Public Health Department. The St. Anthony's clinic is the largest in the City offering the H1N1 vaccine.
Mayor Gavin Newsom put out the call for volunteers, "clinical and non-clinical individuals—who want to help us deliver this vaccine to high risk residents."
Santa Clara County's public health department has its first doses of the injectible swine flu vaccine. The county received 26,000 doses Thursday -- only a fraction of what is needed.
The health department estimates there are more than 800,000 high risk patients in the county. Pregnant women are still high priority, but now the county is forced to limit even those in the high-risk groups until it receives more vaccine.
Most of the doses will immediately be sent to doctors offices serving high-risk patients. The rest will be saved for a public clinic Nov. 7 at the Santa Clara County fairgrounds on Tully road.
The Solano County Public Health Department has been holding vaccination clinics this week. The vaccine will be given in the nasal and shot form starting Friday until supplies run out.
Several drug stores are also administering the vaccine, the health department said.
For more information on vaccination clinics in your area, call 211.
First Published: Oct 30, 2009 1:33 PM PST
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