Counties sharing H1N1 vaccines: Whiteside clinics back to high priority only
MORRISON – The Whiteside County Health Department is back to limiting its free H1N1 vaccines to those most at risk, now that supplies are getting low.
Several weeks ago, department Administrator Beth Fiorini decided to share 14,000 doses with area health departments that did not get enough of the vaccine to immunize their priority groups.
Those 14,000 were about half the amount Whiteside received, and were distributed only after local staff determined they had more than enough to serve local residents, Fiorini said Sunday.
“We decided to share,” she said.
Whiteside County was one of the first counties to order the vaccine from the Illlinois Department of Health – it arrived in early October – “and I ordered a lot,” Fiorini said.
The county’s order was filled, then an unexpected shortage arose when the supply of the vaccine couldn’t keep pace with the national demand, leaving other health agencies out in the cold.
Whiteside gave H1N1 vaccines to Lee, Ogle, Carroll, Stephenson and Henry County health departments and the Rockford health care system, she said.
Lee County Health Department, which did have enough to do its school clinics, received about 3,000 H1N1 doses from Whiteside a few weeks ago, its administrator, Cathy Ferguson, said Sunday.
“We were without for quite some time. I think Beth was seeing so many people from other counties [coming to Whiteside to get the vaccine] that she decided to make it easier and share,” Ferguson said.
Ferguson said her department is close to being able to open H1N1 clinics to the general population, and is just waiting for the OK from the state health department, which she said is trying to keep a somewhat uniform timetable to avoid confusion.
Until more arrives, the Whiteside County Health Department is distributing H1N1 vaccine during its regular clinic hours, and only to people 6 months to 24 years, caregivers of children younger than 6 months and pregnant women.
Those ages 24 to 65, usually part of the priority group, also are being asked to wait until the next batch arrives.
The department had held enough clinics that “we figured those who wanted it would have been in by now,” Fiorini said.
The department also has held enough in abeyance for caregivers of newborns, and to go to the schools to provide the second shots needed for students 9 and younger, she said.
When Whiteside County is once again able to open clinics to the general public, it will notify the public via newspaper and radio.
Whiteside clinic offers H1N1 shots
Whiteside County Health Department is giving free H1N1 vaccines to high-priority groups during regular hours at its clinic at 1300 W. Second St., Rock Falls.
Vaccine is being given to people 6 months to 24 years, caregivers of children younger than 6 months, and pregnant women.
For more information, go to www.whitesidehealth.org or call the clinic at 815-626-2230.
In addition, the health department recently ran out of seasonal flu vaccines; call the clinic to check on its availability.
