Press Release
Vaccine Information for October 3 Seasonal Flu Vaccine Clinics
Woodland, CA-- On October 3, 2009, the Yolo County Health Department will be providing free flu vaccine clinics at two locations in the county:
Woodland Community/Senior Center Riverbank Elementary School
2001 East Street 1100 Carrie Street
Woodland, CA West Sacramento, CA
Both clinics will be open to the public from 9:30 am to 12:30 p.m.
The clinic will offer two types of vaccines, the majority of vaccine available will be FluMist, and the remainder of the doses will be the traditional vaccine injected with a needle. Both are effective only for seasonal influenza.
Known for being fast-acting and easy to receive, FluMist is a vaccine sprayed into the nose.
Flu Mist will be available for individuals between the ages of 2 and 49 years of age. For those who do not qualify for FluMist, there will be injectable vaccines available. The clinic will administer vaccinations first come, first served.
Vaccines for children under the age of two years old will not be available at these clinics, as previously reported, due to a delay in shipping.
There will be 2500 doses of vaccine available at the West Sacramento location, and 2000 doses available at the Woodland location.
Seasonal influenza is responsible for approximately 36,000 deaths and 200,000 hospitalizations per year. Those at highest risk for severe disease include young children, elderly people, and those with weak immune systems due to disease or pregnancy.
“We are working with our City partners to exercise our ability to dispense medicine or vaccines in case of a public health emergency, while offering the opportunity for free flu vaccinations to protect our residents from seasonal flu,” stated Dr. Joseph Iser, Yolo County Health Officer and Director.
Vaccines are provided through the California Department of Public Health Immunization Branch, and the clinics will be implemented with the help of the following partner agencies: City of Woodland, City of West Sacramento, Woodland Healthcare, Washington Unified School District, Yolo County Transportation District (Yolobus), UC Davis Medical Center, California State University Sacramento, American Red Cross, along with many others.
“We hope the public takes advantage of this opportunity to protect themselves against seasonal flu,” adds Dr. Iser. “We want to be able to dispense all 4500 doses of vaccine.”
For more information about the clinics, go to www.yolohealth.org and click on the ‘What’s New’ link, or call (530) 666-8645. For information about public transportation to the clinics, go to www.yolobus.com.