Published: October 21, 2009 10:24 am      

Flu battle still being waged in Hays

San Marcos — With initial funding to fight the H1N1 virus in place, Hays County on Friday will be using seasonal flu vaccine to gauge how well processes are set up to deliver mass doses, should the need arise.

From 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. (or until the 600 doses have been given out), volunteers between the ages of two and 49 can get free intranasal seasonal flu mist in a drive-through exercise at the old Bowie School in the 300 block of Staples Road.

Doses will only be delivered to those who drive up, authorities said, and to be eligible, residents must not be pregnant or have long-term health problems including asthma, heart, lung, kidney or liver disease, metabolic diseases like diabetes, anemia or other blood disorders, seizure disorders, cerebral palsy or a weakened immune system. They must also not have ever had an allergic reaction to eggs or previous flu vaccine, or developed Guillan-Barre Syndrome.

The event is primarily an emergency response exercise, said county spokes person Laureen Chernow. “Fortunately it came at a good time to also distribute the flu vaccine to those who need it when it’s in short supply.”

At their Oct. 13, meeting, Hays County Commissioners OKed a contract between the Personal Health Department and the Texas Department of State Health Services for $145,449 to fund phase one and two of its H1N1 response.

Health Department Director Priscilla Hargrave said the money will be used to get the word out to the public and providers. “It allows us to make sure the community is informed and providers are informed of their responsibilities.”

The health department is “considered a safety net” rather than a primary source of vaccinations, she said, designed to assist those who don’t have insurance or a private physician.

As for the H1N1 vaccine, it is beginning to arrive in Texas. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, an additional 454,200 doses of the vaccine were allocated to Texas last week, which brings the total number of allocated doses to 960,440. The medicine received last week included 233,100 of the injectable form and 221,100 doses of the nasal mist.

While flu is not a reportable condition, the DSHS has been keeping track. As of the week that ended Oct. 10, two people in Hays County had been hospitalized with the H1N1 strain, while one had been admitted to an intensive care unit.

Those figures do not reflect the death last Wednesday of a student at Miller Middle School who also had underlying health problems.

Chernow said Friday’s exercise will benefit both those who are getting the vaccine and those who are dispensing it.

“If there is a situation that requires the county to deliver large numbers of doses of medicine, whether it be for flu or some other issue, we need to make sure we can do that and the best way to do that is to practice it.”

It is believed to be the first exercise of its type the county has carried out. “No one can recall a similar exercise,” Chernow said. “So it’s time we get on board. Our folks are well trained and they work in clinics in fast paced situations quite a bit. I think the exercise will go fairly smoothly, but there are things you learn. That’s why you do it.”

Those wishing to get the vaccine on Friday should enter the old Bowie school drive-through that fronts on Broadway Street.

The county’s Personal Health Department canceled all its flu clinics last week after running out of the seasonal vaccine; though some local private providers still have a supply.