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40 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, November 26, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend November 24, 2004 County will get more flu vaccine But shots are restricted to certain age, health groups By BILL KETTLER Mail Tribune If you still want a flu shot, help is on the way. Just don’t get your hopes up if you’re a baby boomer in otherwise good health. Neither of the two vaccines that are coming can be administered to people age 50 to 65. "If you’re over 49, but not over 65 and generally healthy, you’re out of luck," said Hank Collins, Jackson County’s director of health and human services. Collins said the restrictions are the result of this year’s flu vaccine shortage and the particular characteristics of the vaccines. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention set criteria in October for who could receive flu vaccine after about half the stock of vaccine had to be destroyed because of possible contamination.Jackson County has received about 1,100 doses of vaccine that is delivered as a nasal spray and expects to receive as much as 4,000 doses of injectable flu vaccine during the next week from the CDC. The nasal-spray vaccine, known by the trade name FluMist, will be available starting Monday at the Health Department offices, 1005 E. Main St., Medford, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 4 p.m. while supplies last. Advertisement The spray vaccine uses a weakened live virus, and it may be given only to people between the ages of 5 and 49. Youngsters and older people are more vulnerable to the live vaccine, Collins said. The injectable vaccine will be available at immunization clinics set for Tuesday, Dec. 7, in Ashland, Central Point and White City. Collins said the vaccine, which is made from dead influenza virus, will be given only to adults over age 65; people with underlying chronic medical conditions; women who will be pregnant during the influenza season; health-care workers; residents of nursing homes; and out-of-home caregivers. Flu vaccine is also available for infants age 6 to 23 months at the county health department, but infants will not be immunized at the Dec. 7 clinics, Collins said. "We don’t want to expose otherwise healthy kids" to potential illnesses, Collins said. The Dec. 7 clinics have been scheduled from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Jackson County Expo’s Padgham Pavilion in Central Point; from 1:30 to 4 p.m. at the Ashland Senior Center, 1699 Homes Ave.; and from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Community Health Center, 8385 Division Road, White City. The injectable vaccine will cost $20, and Medicare cards will be accepted. The nasal spray costs $15. Collins said the clinic at the Expo will be a scaled-down version of a mass-immunization exercise that county officials originally planned for October as part of their bioterrorism training. They had hoped to give 5,000 doses of flu vaccine in a single day at the Medford Armory, but vaccine scarcity torpedoed that project. Collins encouraged everyone who comes to the Expo for immunization to wear loose-fitting clothes that will allow them to easily and quickly expose their upper arm for immunization. "There will be very little room for people to disrobe," he said. He also encouraged people who expect to use their Medicare cards to have completed all necessary paperwork before they get immunized to speed the process. As of Tuesday, Collins estimated that only about 15,000 doses of flu vaccine have been delivered this year in Jackson County — about 26 percent of what was given last year. Oregon’s first case of influenza was confirmed in Portland in mid-November. Researchers estimate that 36,000 Americans die every year of flu or its complications, and about 114,000 are hospitalized. (For comparison, about 40,000 people die in auto wrecks.) Reach reporter Bill Kettler at 776-4492, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. 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