Wright County Public Health nurses gave H1N1 vaccine to 375 people at a mass vaccination clinic in Annandale last week, a number that officials said was disappointing when they had 2,000 doses available. There could be many reasons why attendance was so low, said spokeswoman Christine Austin-Roehler, including more availability of the vaccine at local clinics and a false sense of security now that H1N1 activity has slowed down. The people who did come through the line at Bendix Elementary School on Thursday, Dec. 3, however, were thankful and happy for the service, she said. When public health opened the doors at 3 p.m. sharp, a line stretched to the end of the building, clinic nurses reported. "It was cold," Austin-Roehler said, "but within about five minutes everybody was indoors where it was warm." The first hour was the busiest for the 16 nurses who vaccinated about 125 people. They gave another 200 doses between 4 and 7 p.m. The last person walked through the door at about 6:50, and the clinic closed at 7. "We certainly served all of the people who wanted the vaccination," Austin-Roehler said. Last week the Minnesota Department of Health downgraded influenza activity in the state to "local" due to the fact that activity is occurring primarily in the northwestern region of the state, the MDH announced in a statement. There were no school outbreaks reported for the first week of December, and the proportion of patients visiting doctors’ offices with influenza-like symptoms was less than 1 percent in those sites that reported patient visits to the MDH. Despite the downgrade, flu activity continues to be reported across the rest of Minnesota. In the past week the MDH reported 21 hospitalizations, and 18 of them were confirmed H1N1 cases. The department recently confirmed 10 more flu deaths, bringing the total to 45 since April, with 39 of them caused by H1N1 novel influenza. The first seasonal flu death of a child with underlying conditions was among those numbers. "We certainly don’t have as many people ill, but we still have people sick. There are children still sick at school," Austin-Roehler said. Resurgence Wright County Public Health expects to have a resurgence of the disease after the holidays. "Thanksgiving and Christmas break are a mixed blessing," she said. "We have people staying at home, but we also have people traveling to other towns and states. There is definitely the opportunity for new infections to come in after the holidays." Typically January, February and March are when the seasonal flu rears its ugly head, and Austin-Roehler believes H1N1 will be showing up again too. "Now before Christmas break is a good time for parents to have their children vaccinated … We’ve seen that children are hit the hardest by this disease." The small turnout last week could also be an indication that everyone within the high-risk categories who want the vaccine has gotten it, and it may be time to open it up to the general public, Austin-Roehler said. But that is something only the state can decide. She expects that enough vaccine will have arrived in Minnesota to begin offering it to everybody who wants it after the holidays. The Annandale clinic offered shots and FluMist to children and young adults through age 24, pregnant women and parents or caregivers of infants under 6 months. Austin-Roehler said each of those categories was represented, from high school athletes and people in their early 20s to day care providers and parents of young children. The majority were school-aged children. Another dose Those under 9 years old receiving their first vaccine will need another dose after four weeks, Austin-Roehler reminded. "It’s critical to not get the second dose too soon. The first dose wakes up the immune system and the second dose ensures full protection." She expects the majority of the patients she saw last week to be able to get their second vaccination at their home clinics. She anticipates that public health will hold more clinics in January for that purpose as well. The mass clinics offer vaccinations free for people who don’t have insurance or a medical home. Those who do have insurance who visit the county clinics are encouraged to bring their information so public health can be reimbursed for some of its expenses. Two more mass clinics have already been scheduled in the county for December. The first was set for 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8, at St. Albert’s Parish Center in Albertville and the second will take place from 4 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, at Buffalo Community Middle School in Buffalo. Children under 9 who received their first dose of the H1N1 vaccine Tuesday, Nov. 17, at the first mass vaccination clinic in Buffalo should be able to receive their second dose in the same location Dec. 17, Austin-Roehler said.
