H1N1 vaccine now available to everyone

The Valley County Health Department has received more H1N1 influenza vaccine. Several clinics will be available to the general public now that there is an ample supply of the  vaccine. Anyone wishing to be vaccinated has the opportunity to receive the vaccine and decrease the risk of the H1N1 disease.

The first open clinic will be held Thursday, Dec. 17, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Glasgow Evangelical Church, located at 152 Aberdeen St. 

Additional clinics for the general public as well as the high priority target groups will be held at the Health Department on the following dates:

Tuesday, Dec. 22, from 9 – 11 a.m. and 2 – 6 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 23, from 9 – 11 a.m. and 2 – 4 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 29, from 9 – 11 a.m. and 2 – 4 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 30, from 9 – 11 a.m. and 2 – 4 p.m.

There is no charge for the H1N1 vaccine. Children under 18 years of age need permission from a parent for vaccination. Children 6 months through 9 years of age will need two doses of H1N1 vaccine one month apart.

People at high risk from the complications of H1N1 virus are encouraged to come to a clinic for a vaccination. This includes:

people 6 months to 24 years of age
those who live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age, (parents, siblings and daycare providers)
people aged 25-64 who have medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications,
health care workers
pregnant women (please contact your health care provider for H1N1 vaccine.)

This new strain of influenza has been particularly hard on children, young people and pregnant women. In Montana, Native Americans have been infected more than many groups, according to published reports from the state health department. Five of the 18 Montanans who have died from H1N1 have been Indians, a death rate of 7.6 per 100,000, compared to the death rate for white Montanans, 1.5 per 100,000. In another study of 12 states that did not include Montana, the death rate for Indians was not as high, but still elevated above the rate for non-Indians.

This is being attributed to the fact that many Indians have chronic conditions such as diabetes, which makes people more susceptible to dangerous complications if they get the H1N1 virus.