County to offer mass clinic for vaccination this Saturday

As the state starts to see an upswing in the number of H1N1 flu cases, the Tooele County Health Department is reporting a rise as well.

“We just received information from our counterparts throughout the state that we’re starting to see a rise in the number of H1N1 cases statewide,” said Bucky Whitehouse, public information officer with the health department.

He added they have started to see the flu earlier than they normally would with regular seasonal flu cases.

The Tooele County Health Department is preparing for a mass clinic this Saturday to distribute H1N1 vaccines to more priority groups. The clinic, which will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday at the health department building, will be open to pregnant women, health care workers, emergency medical personnel with direct patient contact, caretakers and household contacts of infants younger than 6 months, and individuals 6 months to 24 years old. Vaccines will be given on a first-come-first-serve basis. The clinic will close once vaccines run out.

The department received an additional 500 doses of the H1N1 vaccine Flu Mist in this Tuesday’s shipment. The mist is approved for healthy people from age 2 to 49, though it’s not being recommended for pregnant women. The department has also received 300 doses of the injectable form of the vaccine for those 6 months and older. The injectable form is recommended for pregnant women, and any individual with a chronic medical condition that doesn’t allow them to take the mist.

Of that shipment, many of the doses went to providers, said Sherrie Ahlstrom, nursing director at the health department. Some select providers, according to Whitehouse, are getting the vaccine to be able to provide it to those high risk clients.

The department got its first shipment of 600 doses of the nasal spray last week. These were reserved for health care workers and emergency medical personnel.

“We still have the majority of our vaccine in the form of the Flu Mist so anyone who qualifies for the Flu Mist is encouraged to come this Saturday and get that,” Whitehouse said.

According to Terry Linares, Tooele County School District superintendent, “We are working closely with the Tooele County Health Department on how we’re coordinating the vaccine and also tracking the attendance at every school.”

She added they have ordered hand disinfectants for each school and instructed custodians to wipe down materials and equipment, including desks. As schools come online for the vaccine, Linares said they will be sending home letters to inform parents.

While Linares said there are a few cases throughout schools in the county, she couldn’t confirm a number.

“Yesterday there were over 300 kids out at Tooele High, but not all identified as having the flu,” she said. “It’s hard to quantify because kids will still be absent, but we’ve asked them to keep track of how many calls are coming in saying ‘my child has the flu.’”

Excelsior Academy sent information on H1N1 to parents compiled by a parent and local physician. Ernie Nix, director of the charter school, said the brochure includes information on what the flu is, prevention tips, treatment options and general care.

“So far we haven’t seen any issue yet,” he said, “but it’s probably coming our way just like everybody else.”

Sanitizer is in the classrooms and bathrooms at Excelsior and Nix said he encourages all the students and adults to wash their hands and take good care of themselves.

Marcella Burden, principal at St. Marguerite’s Catholic School, said they have been asked by the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. Those include sending a child home who exhibits any flu-like symptoms, that a child with H1N1 remain home until they are symptom-free for 24 hours without medication, and if a family member is diagnosed with H1N1 that family members remain home for five days.

In the past week there have been two or three cases at the school.

“We’re hoping to get as many people to the health department this weekend for vaccinations as possible,” she said. “But it hasn’t been bad yet. It just started this week.”

Hand sanitizers donated by a local doctor are also mounted on the wall in each classroom. Posters about washing hands and staying home if you have a fever or cough are displayed throughout the school, which were given to the Catholic schools by the Salt Lake Valley Health Department.

Whitehouse said people should stay home if they feel symptoms of the flu coming on.

Proper coughing and cold etiquette — coughing into your armpit or shoulder and avoiding touching your eyes, nose and mouth — will help prevent the spread of germs.

Whitehouse added the standard is still to stay home from work or school until 24 hours after any fever has broken.

“We’re really encouraging the community as a whole, if they’re sick, to use social distancing and elect to stay home and prevent anyone else they might associate with from getting ill,” Whitehouse said.

He added it’s very difficult for them to forecast which types of doses the health department will be receiving in coming weeks.

The health department has supplied the schools with masks in case a child is sick and has to wait in the office until the parent can get them. The masks are intended to prevent the spreading of respiratory droplets to anybody else, and worn by the sick person rather than the healthy person. They have also supplied schools with important hand washing information as well.

“We work closely with the school district and any decisions regarding school closures necessary would be done jointly with the health department and the school district,” Whitehouse said. “That is on a case-by-case basis.”

Sarah Miley: swest@tooeletranscript.com