County Health Department Offering Free H1N1 Vaccinations at Five Public Clinics

(November 4, 2009) The Saint Louis County Department of Health will be offering free H1N1 flu vaccinations to county residents at five area high schools on Saturday, November 7th.

“Although the vaccine supply is still far below what we need, we have now received enough to announce our first round of free H1N1 vaccination clinics for Saint Louis County residents,” said County Executive Charlie A. Dooley.

Added Dr. Dolores J. Gunn, Director of the County Health Department, “Because of the very limited supply we have at this time, preference will be given to those falling into one of the five high priority groups identified by the CDC.”

Those five (5) high priority groups are:

- pregnant women;
- children from 6 months of age through 4 years of age;
- caregivers of and those who live with infants under the age of 6 months;
- youth from 5 years of age through 18 years of age with an underlying health condition that makes them more susceptible to flu complications; and
- emergency medical service personnel and healthcare workers.

Those wishing to be vaccinated will need to obtain a line ticket from one of the five clinic locations prior to being vaccinated.  Line tickets will be available at each location starting at 7:00 a.m.  The vaccinations will be administered between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

At least 10,000 doses of vaccine will be available for the Saturday clinics – 2,000 at each of the five sites.  A mixture of H1N1 shots and FluMist® will be available at each site, but because of limited supplies, it will not be possible to honor individual preferences.  The type of vaccine used will be based on what is medically appropriate for each patient.  Participants are asked to consider wearing clothing that will allow easy arm access to help speed the process.

The vaccination events are for the residents of Saint Louis County, and proof of residency may be required, such as a driver’s license or a utility bill.

A drive-through distribution area for handing out line tickets will be set up at each of the five locations.  There will be two vaccination sessions and line tickets will designate admission to either a morning session or an afternoon session.

The five free H1N1 vaccination clinics on Saturday will be held at:

Hazelwood West High School
1 Wildcat Lane
Hazelwood, MO 63042
  
Jennings High School
8850 Cozens Avenue
Jennings, MO 63136  
(Parking for the Jennings location will be at 8960 Jennings Station Road; however, participants will first need to pick up a line ticket at the high school.)
  
Lafayette High School
17050 Clayton Road
Wildwood, MO 63038
  
Lindbergh High School
4900 South Lindbergh Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63126
  
Maplewood-Richmond Heights High School
(Line ticket distribution and parking for the Maplewood location will be at the parking lot of the Sunnen Products Company, located at 16 Sunnen Drive, Maplewood, MO 63143.)

Dr. Gunn emphasized that the priority group restrictions will be eased once more vaccine has been received.  “Everyone who wants to be vaccinated will be able to do so eventually,” said Dr. Gunn.

Future H1N1 vaccination clinics are being planned for December and January.  In the interim, the County Health Department will continue to distribute vaccine to schools, OB/GYNs, pediatricians, hospitals, and clinics to address the needs of the CDC-identified priority groups.

For more information, please visit the Health Department’s flu website at:

http://www.SaintLouisCountyFlu.com