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H1N1 Vaccine Offered at Two County Health Centers
SAINT LOUIS COUNTY, MO – (December10, 2009) The H1N1 vaccine will be available at two Saint Louis County Health Centers to any county resident 6 months of age or older starting on Monday, December 14th. The H1N1 vaccination clinics are walk-in clinics; appointments will not be necessary.
The vaccine will be available free of charge at the North Central Community Health Center, 4000 Jennings Station Road in Pine Lawn, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except Thursday when the H1N1 clinic will be open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The vaccine will also be available at the South County Health Center, 4850 South Lindbergh Boulevard in Sunset Hills, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily, except Wednesday when the H1N1 clinic will be open from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
“This is just the first step in making the vaccine more available to the general public. We will be announcing more locations in the near future,” said Dr. Dolores G. Gunn, Director of the County Health Department.
The department has already received more than 200,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine. Additional shipments are expected in the following weeks.
Despite the availability of additional vaccine, the health department emphasizes that residents should not lower their guard. The traditional methods of prevention remain important:
• Cover your mouth whenever you sneeze or cough.
• Wash your hands regularly, especially after sneezing, coughing, or blowing your nose.
• Keep a distance of three feet between you and other people.
• Stay home if you are sick (or keep your children home if they are sick).
• Go home if you become sick (or pick your children up from school early if they become sick).
For more information, please visit the Health Department’s flu website at:
www.SaintLouisCountyFlu.com
Updated Information from St. Louis County Health: December 2, 2009
The St. Louis County Health Department will be focusing this event on the Essex side of the Kirkwood High School campus (parking, line tickets, entry into the building). The Dougherty Ferry side will be reserved for the scheduled wrestling tournament and staff who are working the vaccination event.
The Kirkwood Police Department and County Health provided a tentative timeline.Friday
Police department will block off the Essex lot for safety purposes.Saturday
7:00 a.m. Volunteers will give out line tickets (Designated a.m. and p.m.)8:30 a.m. Open doors and begin vaccinations
4:30 p.m. Event ends
6:30 p.m. Health Department should be out of buildingCounty Health Department Announces Second Round of Public H1N1 Vaccination Clinics
Posted: December 2, 2009
• youth from 6 months of age through 24 years of age;
• caregivers of and those who live with infants under the age of 6 months;
• adults from 25 years of age through 64 years of age with an underlying health condition that makes them more susceptible to flu complications; and
• emergency medical service personnel and healthcare workers.
1005 Waterford Drive
Florissant, MO 63033
801 West Essex Avenue
Kirkwood, MO 63122
369 North Woods Mill Road
Chesterfield, MO 63017
9100 Saint Charles Rock Road
Breckenridge Hills, MO 63114
1780 Hawkins Road
Fenton, MO 63126
District to Receive 500 Doses of H1N1 FluMist
November 17, 2009
The Kirkwood School District has been notified by St. Louis County Health that the district will receive 500 doses of the H1N1 FluMist this week. We may receive incremental doses of the H1N1 FluMist over the next several weeks.Due to the limited quantity, the district will administer the FluMist vaccine during the school day beginning on Friday, Nov. 20. We will divide the FluMist evenly and begin in kindergarten classrooms and continue through all grade levels. If you would like your child to receive the FluMist, please return a consent form for each child to your child's school office before Friday. If you do not have the consent form, you may pick up a consent form at your child's school.
FluMist is a nasal spray of the live virus. Children who have asthma or other underlying conditions cannot receive the FluMist.
Our goal throughout this vaccination process has been to do our best to help support the health of our students and staff. We will continue to work with St. Louis County Health to provide H1N1 vaccinations. Thank you for your understanding and patience.
H1N1 Vaccinations Rescheduled
Thursday, November 5
November 03, 2009
The St. Louis County Health Department has notified the Kirkwood School District that it can expect to receive 700 vaccinations (shots) and 300 FluMists (nasal sprays) on Thursday, Nov. 5.
In partnership with Des Peres Hospital, the Kirkwood School District will hold a FREE vaccination clinic for students on Nov. 5 from 5 - 8 p.m. at North Kirkwood Middle School - South Gym, 11287 Manchester Road. Parents are asked to arrive no earlier than 4:30 p.m. Clinic doors will open at 5 p.m.
All students must have a signed consent form from a parent in order to be vaccinated at the clinic. Parents are asked to bring the signed consent form previously sent home with their child to the clinic. If you have already submitted your consent form to your child’s school, you are also welcome to bring your child to the clinic. Consent forms will be available at the clinic.
Vaccine Information:
Children 9 years and younger who have already received the seasonal FluMist nasal spray must wait 28 days before receiving the H1N1 FluMist nasal spray.
Children 9 years and younger who receive either form of the H1N1 vaccination (FluMist nasal spray or a shot), will need a second immunization 21-28 days from the first immunization. Children older than 9 years and adults need only one dose of H1N1 vaccine.
St. Louis County will provide information regarding future supplies of the vaccine for the second immunization.
PLEASE NOTE: Those with egg allergies or a history of other severe allergies are not eligible to receive any form of the H1N1 vaccine.
For more information about H1N1, visit www.flu.gov
Past Notifications:
October 26, 2009
The U.S. Department of Health and Senior Services has issued NEW priority guidelines for administering H1N1 vaccinations due to the limited supply of the vaccine. The new priority guidelines are listed below. Based on the new priority list, the district will not be receiving H1N1 vaccinations for K-12 students from St. Louis County Health at this time. Therefore, our scheduled vaccination clinic for Oct. 29-31 has been canceled as well as plans to vaccinate students in their home schools. Please keep your consent forms at home until we receive further directions from St. Louis County Health.
We regret any inconvenience this may cause our families. As always, the health and well being of our students and staff is our top priority. We will continue to practice the precautions we have implemented in classrooms to help reduce the spread of the flu. School nurses will continue to monitor student health throughout the day.
St. Louis County Health has notified the district that parents should contact their pediatrician if they believe their child meets the new priority guidelines. There also will be several public clinics where those who meet the new priority guidelines may receive the vaccination. Please go to http://www.stlouisco.com/doh/ to monitor posting of the public clinics.
Families are encouraged to practice good hand washing at home and to remind family members to cover their mouths with a tissue or sleeve when sneezing or coughing. Sick students and staff members should stay home if they have flu-like symptoms and not return to school until they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the aid of fever reducing medication.
Again, I want to assure you that the Kirkwood School District will continue to work with the St. Louis County Health Dept. to obtain H1N1 vaccinations. We will continue to update the district website as information about the H1N1 vaccinations becomes available.
New Priority Guidelines
Because the initially available quantities of these vaccines are limited, they should, at this time, be given to persons in the following priority groups (note that the order of the target groups does not indicate priority):
Pregnant women, Persons who live with or provide care for infants aged <6 months (e.g., parents, siblings, and daycare providers),
Health-care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients or infectious material,
Children aged 6 months - 4 years, and
Children and adolescents aged 5 - 18 years who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications. These conditions include chronic pulmonary (including asthma), cardiovascular (except hypertension), renal, hepatic, cognitive, neurologic/neuromuscular, hematologic, or metabolic disorders (including diabetes mellitus); or immunosuppression (including immunosuppression caused by medications or by human immunodeficiency virus).
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Dear Parent/Guardian:
The health and well being of all students and staff is a priority for the Kirkwood School District. To help ensure a healthy school year for all, the district has reviewed standard health procedures and preventative measures related to several contagious illnesses. These include the common cold, flu, head lice and staph infections.
Parents are asked to review the www.co.st-louis.mo.us/doh or at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website at www.cdc.gov.
If you have questions or concerns about your child’s health, please contact your family physician.
Sincerely,
Linda McKeon, R.N.
Lead Nurse