Free vaccine clinic will test emergency preparedness in
dispensing medications
Flu season is nearly upon us and the San Benito County Public
Health Department is offering a free flu vaccination to qualified
adults.
Free vaccine clinic will test emergency preparedness in dispensing medications
Flu season is nearly upon us and the San Benito County Public Health Department is offering a free flu vaccination to qualified adults.
With the threat of bird flu and other natural disasters, the Public Health Departments in San Benito and Santa Clara counties are working on plans that would allow them to distribute medication to all residents in two days time – a daunting task for Santa Clara which has more than 2 million residents and San Benito which has remote locations upwards of 70 miles from the county center in Hollister.
“We are going to be doing a mass [vaccinations] with all of our staff, some who have never participated,” said Liz Falade, the San Benito health officer. “We haven’t done mass clinics because most patients get [vaccinations] from their own doctors.”
For several years, the Public Health Department has shared its dosages of flu vaccinations with nursing homes and other places where residents go for flu shorts.
The free clinic this year is one of the efforts to prepare staff for emergencies.
“There are probably many different strategies we will have to use,” Falade said. “One will be a point of dispensing, like this clinic. We are getting our staff up to speed should we be required to mount that kind of effort.”
The clinic will be open to people 60 years and older, and adults with chronic diseases such as asthma, diabetes and heart disease as well as those who care for individuals in those categories.
No registration is needed, but the clinic will be on a first come, first serve basis.
The clinic will provide up to 400 free influenza vaccinations to county residents, according to Samela Perez, the public information officer for the county’s Public Health Division.
“We are timing it to see how long it takes us to vaccinate 400 people,” Perez said. “The clinic will help to improve the county’s operational readiness, test interagency coordination, evaluate public health disaster plans and identify resource gaps.”
In a natural disaster or if a pandemic flu were to strike, county agencies would be responsible for distributing vaccinations or medications throughout the county.
Agencies that will help with the clinic include the Office of Emergency Services, law enforcement agencies, staff from County government, Emergency Medical Services and Hazel Hawkins Hospital.
Each year, 5 to 20 percent of the population contracts seasonal flu. As many as 36,000 people nationwide die from it each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Complications include bacterial pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, dehydration and worsening of chronic medical conditions. The flu can spread easily because those with the virus can be contagious up to one day before they have any symptoms.
The clinic will be at the Veterans’ Memorial Building, 649 San Benito St., Friday, Nov. 3, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information, contact the Public Health Division at 637-5367.
