H1N1 vaccine mostly slow to flow – though travelers can get it at Sac International
Travelers on Thursday pass – as most did – a kiosk set up to deliver $30 nasal flu vaccinations at Sacramento International Airport. While many call for wider H1N1 vaccine access, airport business was slow.
Business was slow Thursday at the medical kiosk in Sacramento International Airport's Terminal A, even as it began offering the scarce H1N1 vaccine to travelers for $30.
"I was afraid there would be a line around the building," said Denise Smith, the Hopkins M.D. kiosk medical assistant who administers the nasal vaccines. "I was worried."
Patricia Huckabay, 28, stopped by the kiosk before catching her flight to St. Louis but decided against getting the vaccine. So did a group of three businessmen rolling their suitcases to their gate.
Sacramento County's free H1N1 vaccination clinics are set to start Monday, with vaccines initially limited to high-risk individuals. And, since early this month, schoolchildren in Placer County have had access to the vaccine. Yet access across the Sacramento region has been spotty and unpredictable because California's Public Health Department has received limited quantities.
Meanwhile, public health officials said, the H1N1 virus now accounts for almost all current influenza cases in Northern California. Nationwide, an estimated 22 million people have come down with the virus since it appeared last spring, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Placer's free vaccination clinics for kids continue through Dec. 17 at local schools, said county spokeswoman Anita Yoder, and community clinics are scheduled to begin Dec. 2.
El Dorado County officials hope to set community clinics this month when more H1N1 vaccine becomes available, said health department spokeswoman Margaret Williams.
Yolo County doesn't yet have any public clinics on the calendar, either. "We don't have enough vaccine yet," said Dr. Joe Iser, county health director.
When the H1N1 vaccine becomes available, he said, Yolo County and local communities will sponsor free clinics.
The county Health Department has received 1,500 doses of the 10,000 the state has given to health care providers throughout Yolo County, said county spokeswoman Beth Gabor. Rumors that county health workers first gave doses to themselves and their families were false, she said.
Instead, she said, the department vaccinated people in high-risk groups: pregnant women, children and caregivers of young children.
Children are experiencing the highest rates of new H1N1 infections, according to the CDC. The typical seasonal flu tends to pose the greatest risk to the elderly.
Since April, there have been 15 deaths attributed to the H1N1 virus in Sacramento County. Typically, one or two flu-related deaths are reported each year in Sacramento.
As of Thursday, the CDC said, about 4,000 deaths nationwide have been linked to the new virus.
Amid the vaccine's spotty availability, health officials this week fielded questions about residents of neighboring counties visiting Sacramento for its scheduled H1N1 shot clinics. The blunt answer: Each county health office is responsible for distribution of the vaccine among its own residents, said Glennah Trochet, Sacramento County's public health officer.
Yolo County's Gabor encouraged residents to ask their own health care providers about the vaccine, since community clinics and hospitals in Yolo received doses in separate allotments.
The medical kiosk at Sacramento's airport – which also offers seasonal flu, pneumonia and tetanus shots – will give the H1N1 vaccine only to people ages 2 through 49.
"I look at IDs," said Smith, the kiosk medical assistant. "People are going crazy about the seasonal flu shots, too, honestly. Last year was nothing like this. But now everybody wants to be covered."
VACCINATION CLINICS
Area counties will offer free H1N1 vaccination clinics in coming weeks. Placer, Yolo and El Dorado counties have yet to release schedules. Sacramento County has scheduled clinics through January.
The first round of clinics in Sacramento County, from Monday through Nov. 24, is restricted to county residents in one of the following priority groups: pregnant women; health care workers; anyone ages 6 months to 24 years; anyone with an underlying medical condition; and people caring for children under 6 months old. Here are the dates for November:
Monday: 3:30-7:30 p.m., Hiram Johnson High School, 6879 14th Ave., Sacramento
Tuesday: 3-7 p.m., Rio Linda High School, 6309 Dry Creek Road, Rio Linda Wednesday: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Loaves & Fishes, 1321 North C St., Sacramento
Thursday: 3-7 p.m., Casa Roble High School, 9151 Oak Ave., Orangevale
Nov. 20: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Samuel Pannell Community Center, 2450 Meadowview Road, Sacramento
Nov. 21: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., Town and Country Lutheran Church, 4049 Marconi Ave. Sacramento
Nov. 23: 3-7 p.m., First Covenant Church, 10933 Progress Court, Rancho Cordova
Nov. 24: 10 a.m.-2 p.m., La Sierra Community Center, 5325 Engle Road, Carmichael
Nov. 30: 3-7 p.m., Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 6151 H St., Sacramento