Macomb County Health Department announces H1N1 influenza clinic

Another large community H1N1 influenza clinic has been scheduled by the Macomb County Health Department, the department announced today. It will be held at Freedom Hill County Park in Sterling Heights this Saturday, Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Freedom Hill is located at 14900 Metropolitan Parkway.

Last week, the Macomb County Health Department held four community clinics at Freedom Hill, Wednesday through Saturday. A total of more than 11,000 doses were administered during these sessions.

At least 3,000 additional doses will be available at Saturday's clinic. In addition to these public clinics, 54,000 doses of vaccine have been distributed to hospitals and private physician offices in Macomb County that requested it through the H1N1 vaccine enrollment process established by the state. Many of these providers are pediatricians and OB/GYNs, which target two high-risk populations: young children and pregnant women. Call your physician's office to see if they have enrolled to receive vaccine for their patients.

Saturday's clinic will offer both the injectable and nasal spray vaccine, free of charge. According to Tom Kalkofen, director of the Macomb County Health Department, "We are continuing to receive additional shipments of vaccine regularly. Please visit our Web site, https://health.macombgov.org/Health-Home or call our flu hot line at 586.466.7923, regularly for updated clinic dates and locations."

Due to limited availability of vaccine, the Macomb County Health Department is serving only those in the following high-risk groups at this time:

INJECTABLE VACCINE

• Pregnant women
• New parents and household contacts of children less than 6 months of age
• Healthy children and young adults 6 months through 24 years of age
• Health care and emergency medical services workers (regardless of age)
• Adults ages 25 to 64 years of age with high-risk medical conditions that increase risk of complications from influenza

NASAL VACCINE

Healthy, nonpregnant persons who:

• Are from 2 through 24 years of age
• Are from 25 through 49 years of age and live with or care for infants younger than 6 months of age
• Are health care or emergency medical services workers and are from 25 through 49 years of age

Children under 10 years old need two doses of vaccine to receive adequate immunity. These children need to wait at least 28 days before receiving the second dose.

For additional information about the H1N1 flu, visit the health department's Website at https://health.macombgov.org/Health-Home or call its flu hot line at 586.466.7923.