Newberg Graphic Online

County expands H1N1 vaccine availability

Public health — Vaccines offered to Newberg students this week, adults with underlying health conditions can make appointments

• By: Amanda Newman  
• Published: 11/17/2009 11:27:20 AM

Photo By: Gary AllenFile photo
RN Linda Schilling gives Kindergarten student Hailey Garber a nasal injection at Joan Austin Elementary School.

   A significant portion of Newberg is getting vaccinated for H1N1 (swine) flu this week, as Yamhill County Public Health administers clinics at local public schools. Adults with underlying health conditions — nearly the last priority group to be addressed by the county, and possibly the most at-risk — are about to get their turn.
   Yamhill County recently saw a second H1N1 fatality, a 49-year-old McMinnville woman who died Nov. 5, the News-Register reported Saturday. Both of the county’s H1N1 deaths — the other was a 44-year-old McMinnville man who succumbed in late October — had underlying health conditions.
   In a Friday update from the Oregon Department of Human Services, Oregon public health director Dr. Mel Kohn stressed the importance of inoculating those with underlying health conditions (such as asthma and heart disease), a category emerging as the most important and at-risk.
   “That’s why we are emphasizing today the importance of ensuring that people with chronic conditions get vaccinated,” Kohn said in the Friday release. “People with underlying health conditions are much more likely to have a severe case of H1N1 influenza that could require hospitalization ... we are asking this high-risk group to please make sure and get vaccinated early in order to protect themselves.”
   Previously, Yamhill County had been limiting vaccines, which remain in short supply, to three of the identified priority groups: children 6 months through 5 years old, pregnant women and school-aged children. Following the Friday release, the county, along with others throughout the state, announced it would expand the clinics to those with underlying health conditions.
   Meanwhile, clinics at public schools throughout the county are continuing as planned, said public health spokesperson Sarah Bates. Newberg schools are receiving the vaccine this week and McMinnville, Yamhill-Carlton and Amity high schools are up next week. Other county public schools, private schools and daycare centers have previously held clinics.
   In Newberg, Joan Austin Elementary and Newberg High School were up first, receiving vaccines Monday. “Everything went real smoothly,” Bates said.
   Approximately 1,850 Newberg School District students (about 35 percent of the population) turned in consent forms by Friday’s deadline, district spokesperson Claudia Stewart said, and more were bringing them in Monday morning. Bates said the forms would be accepted through the morning of each clinic.
   Pregnant women and children 6 months to 18 years who haven’t otherwise obtained the vaccine can attend the clinics at the end of the school day. Chehalem Park and Recreation District will also hold a clinic from 9 to 11 a.m. Thursday at Chehalem Community Center (502 E. Second St.), for pregnant women and children through age 5.
   Bates said the county’s H1N1 clinic, which closed earlier this month after running out of supplies three days in, will open again this week and continue through Nov. 25, closing Nov. 26-27 for Thanksgiving. The clinic continues to serve pregnant women and kids 5 and younger and will begin making appointments for those with underlying health conditions, leaving only one priority group — those 19-23 years old — largely unserved in Yamhill County.
   “Of course, everything is depending on how much vaccine we get,” Bates said.
   To make an appointment, call 503-554-7842.

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