H1N1 vaccine is here: First batches will be used to protect most vulnerable

[ Originally published on: Wednesday, November 04, 2009 ]

About 600 doses of the swine flu vaccine that recently arrived in Franklin County will be used to vaccinate the area's most vulnerable students.

The Mohawk Area Public Health Coalition, the local boards of health planning group, has received the vaccine and now will work with the local schools to coordinate a series of small in-school clinics.

Several schools including Greenfield and Gill-Montague Regional School District have announced that they plan to hold H1N1 clinics as soon as they can be arranged.

Nina Martin-Anzuoni, a regional public health emergency planner, said they don't know yet when the clinics will be but that they will be trying to get vaccines to every school district.

Since the vaccine remains in short supply, it will be reserved for people at high risk, including children, pregnant women, caregivers of infants and health care workers with direct patient contact.

The vaccine shipments are arriving more regularly, but there's still not enough information to plan for any large public clinics.

Martin-Anzuoni said, from this point on, she expects the vaccine will continue to come into the area steadily, which she hopes will allow different communities to hold small clinics until adequate supplies come for larger public clinics.

'More is coming,' said Nicole Zabko, Greenfield's director of public health. 'But, it may take a few more weeks before it's widely available.'

For the full version of this story, you may purchase The Recorder electronically, by returning to the home page and clicking under 'E-Edition' on the right side of your screen, or you can purchase the print edition, which is available throughout Franklin County, Massachusetts.

 

---