The good news is there haven’t been any reported cases of the
influenza virus in San Benito County, according to health
officials. The bad news is there still aren’t enough vaccines to
protect those susceptible to the virus even with more than 300
vaccines the county recently received from the state, according to
local health officials.
Hollister – The good news is there haven’t been any reported cases of the influenza virus in San Benito County, according to health officials. The bad news is there still aren’t enough vaccines to protect those susceptible to the virus even with more than 300 vaccines the county recently received from the state, according to local health officials.
Though there have been reported cases in the state and throughout the country, activity has been fairly low, said Dr. Elizabeth Falade, county health officer.
Flu season doesn’t usually peak until December or January, so a low level of reported cases now doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, she said.
“There’s no reason to expect it will be any worse than usual, but I don’t think we’ll really know what’s going to turn up,” Falade said.
The public health department received more than 300 doses from the state late last month and distributed them to Hazel Hawkins Hospital to use in two public health clinics – one today in Hollister and one Thursday in San Juan Bautista, said Frankie Valent, marketing director for Hazel Hawkins.
The hospital issued 250 numbers on a first-come, first-serve basis to county residents Tuesday and will hold its clinic at the hospital from 4pm to 6pm today, Valent said.
Flu shots are $20 each, which covers the vaccine, syringe and supplies and personnel to give the shots, she said.
“Twenty dollars is our break even cost,” Valent said.
Almost half of the country’s vaccines will not be delivered because major manufacturer, Chiron, had its license to manufacture the vaccine Fluvirin suspended for three months due to contamination problems.
One hundred vaccines will be distributed at the San Juan Bautista clinic from 3pm to 5pm on Thursday, also on a first-come, first-serve basis, she said.
The county may receive more vaccinations as the flu season progresses, and if it does it will distribute them to Hazel Hawkins to vaccinate the public, Falade said.
“We’re hoping to meet more of the need in the next day or two, and maybe more,” she said.
Only people considered high-risk for the flu are eligible to receive a shot this season because of a state mandate. Those considered high risk are children age 6 to 23 months, adults age 65 and older, nursing home residents, health care workers involved in direct patient care, pregnant women and anyone age 2 to 64 with chronic medical conditions.
For more information on flu vaccines, call the San Benito County Public Health Department at 637-5367, or Hazel Hawkins Hospital at 637-5711.
Erin Musgrave covers public safety and health issues for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
