Placer County Announces Public H1N1 Vaccination Clinics

With the arrival of additional vaccines, Placer County Health and Human Services' Public Health Division is announcing a schedule of upcoming free public vaccination clinics for the H1N1 flu, sometimes referred to as the "swine flu," in partnership with the respective cities.

The upcoming round of clinics will be:

• Monday, Dec. 14, from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., at the Rocklin Sunset Center, 2650 Sunset Blvd., Rocklin, CA
  
• Wednesday, Dec. 16, from 11 a.m. - 3 p.m., at the North Tahoe Event Center, 8318 North Lake Boulevard, Kings Beach, CA
  
• Thursday, Dec. 17, from Noon - 4 p.m., at the Roseville Maidu Community Center, 1550 Maidu Dr., Roseville, CA
  
• Friday, Dec. 18, from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m., at the Gold Country Fairgrounds, 1273 High St., Auburn, CA. This is a drive-through clinic; patients don't even need to get out of their cars. Please enter the Fairgrounds from Auburn Folsom Road at Fairgate.
  

These public clinics are intended to make the H1N1 vaccine available to Placer County residents who are at higher risk for complications of H1N1 flu, and who haven’t yet been able to obtain the vaccine. The target groups, as identified by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, include:

• Pregnant women;
  
• People who live with or care for infants younger than 6 months of age;
  
• Health care and emergency medical personnel;
  
• Anyone from 6 months through 24 years of age;
  
• Anyone from 25 through 64 years of age with certain chronic medical conditions or a weakened immune system.
  

Since early November, Placer County has been conducting school-based vaccination clinics, ensuring that hospitals and those involved in emergency response are able to vaccinate staff and higher risk patients, and ensuring that obstetricians, pediatricians, and family practice physicians have vaccine to vaccinate higher risk patients. Placer County will continue these school-based clinics and outreach efforts along with the new public clinics so that as many individuals in higher risk groups that wish to be vaccinated for H1N1 flu have the opportunity to receive it.

As additional vaccine arrives later this month, Placer County will schedule additional H1N1 vaccine clinics, including clinics for all Placer County residents.

Physicians in the community are beginning to receive additional vaccine as well, so individuals may wish to contact their healthcare provider to see if they now have vaccine available.

Placer County will provide information through its web site, http://www.placer.ca.gov/. To receive future information about flu clinics through direct e-mail, consider signing up for the county’s free e-newsletter, available at the above web address.

The upcoming vaccinations will be free of charge.

Blog Post Courtesy of Jason Probst, Communications Analyst with the City of Roseville.