Swine flu clinics in West Virginia open
October 26, 2009 ·
The first batches of H1N1 vaccines are becoming available to the public in West Virginia. The first group to receive the vaccine is the one most at risk -- people between the ages of 6 months and 24 years old.
In Cabell County, the vaccine was given out at a local church. In other counties such as Kanawha, health officials have decided to give out the vaccine at local schools.
Dr. Cathy Slemp of the state Health and Human Resources office says there is a reason young people are getting the first round.
“That’s because that’s the group that has the highest chance of getting H1N1, that’s where we see the disease most commonly,” Slemp said.
Slemp said the next shipments should be in sometime this week. She says they can only give it out as fast as it is being supplied.
“As we move into November, we’ll have increases in vaccine availability and into December and January even more and more vaccine, and so we really expect over time to have plenty of supply,” Slemp said.
Slemp said the flu starts in pockets, which explains why the first four deaths were in Cabell County.
“What we saw in the state was that the first increase and upswing of disease occurred around the Cabell area, that region was having the most disease and where you have the most disease you tend to have more and more complications,” Slemp said.
Other areas seeing a spike in H1N1 are the Parkersburg area and Monongalia County.
The first clinic in Cabell County was last Thursday at New Baptist Church. It attracted 2,269 people, but health officials did not run out.
Elizabeth Ayers of the Cabell Huntington Health Department says they weren’t surprised by the number of people that showed.
“In the beginning it was overwhelming because we did have a huge crowd, but once it slowed down we were able to stay open and vaccinate everyone that came through,” Ayers said.
Ayers says the level of worry is still high.
“People here still had a large amount of calls and questions and again it’s normal and we’re prepared to deal with it,” Ayers said.
Another H1N1 clinic is planned for Wednesday at the old Milton Middle school in Cabell County from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. For clinics around the state officials say to check with local health departments.