Thousands of Lee County residents took advantage of the free H1N1 vaccinations that occurred at two local high schools Thursday.
“The response from the public was very positive. Through this effort a lot of people in Lee County are now protected from the H1N1 virus. This is an easy, simple, and free way to protect you and your family” said Dr. Judith A. Hartner, director of the Lee County Health Department, in a prepared statement.
Vaccinations occurred today at South Fort Myers High School in South Fort Myers and Mariner High School in Cape Coral. The clinic times were from 10 a.m.-3 p.m.
While final counts are not complete, both clinic locations saw a similar number of residents with approximately 1,562 doses given out at South Fort Myers High School and about 1,770 given out at Mariner High School.
South Fort Myers High School had 71 non-medical volunteers and 78 medical staff and Mariner High School had 56 volunteers and 75 medical staff.
The Health Department urges people to come to the clinics; the average time to get registered and get the vaccine was about 12 minutes at South Fort Myers High School. For the public’s convenience, prior to coming to a clinic, please verify you are a member of the priority group.
Everyone should eventually be vaccinated, but those in high risk categories will be given the first supplies of the vaccine. They include:
* Pregnant women
* Children and young adults age 6 months through 24 years
* People who live with or care for children younger than 6 months old
* Health care workers and emergency medical services personnel
* People age 25 through 64 years who have health conditions associated with higher risk of medical complications from influenza
There will be no more health department vaccination clinics this week, but they will resume on Monday, Nov. 2. Always remember before departing for any clinic site, to verify the date and time as the schedule is subject to change based on availability of vaccine. To verify clinic information, log onto the Lee County Health Department Web site at www.LeeCHD.com
Volunteers are still welcome for all clinic sites. To sign up to be a volunteer, call United Way 211 by dialing 2-1-1, download an application from www.LeeEOC.com (located under the Breaking News section) or pick one up at your local library. The application can be submitted directly online, or you can fax or mail it (information located on the application form).
For more information on influenza activity there are a number of resources available such as the Florida Department of Health toll-free number which provides public health information and updates on H1N1 Swine flu. The information line is available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. EDT, seven days a week. Information is available in English, Spanish and Creole. The Florida Flu Information Line is 1-877-352-3581.
For Web-based information please visit any of the following Web sites:
Lee County Health Department, www.LeeCHD.com
Florida Department of Health, www.doh.state.fl.us/DEMO/php/FluInfo.htm
My Safe Florida, www.myflusafety.com
The Centers for Disease Prevention and Control, http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/
The World Health Organization, (WHO), http://www.who.int/en/
Flu.gov, http://www.flu.gov/