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Planning starts now for swine flu clinics

JANESVILLE — The Rock County Health Department is planning for mass swine flu vaccination clinics this fall.

The department is planning locations and volunteers to hold large-scale clinics in a short period of time to vaccinate masses, especially the target populations such as school-aged children, Rock County Health Officer Karen Cain said.

People also will be advised to receive the normal influenza vaccination, which will be separate from the swine flu vaccine, Cain said.

The Centers for Disease Control is working with pharmaceutical companies to manufacture the vaccine, but it might not reach recipients until November or December, Cain said.

"When it does come, we're going to have to get it out to people as quickly as possible," she said.

"We are going to have to target certain people that are at the highest risk of complications, making sure they get the vaccine first," she said. "We're talking about how that's going to work."

Health officials are preparing for many more swine flu cases in fall, when the flu usually is more prevalent, Cain said.

"We have no idea what it's going to come back like in fall," Cain said. "It's still here, it's not gone away."

Walworth County has been working with summer camps and day cares to report cases, and health officials there plan to meet with churches to provide education and school nurses to develop plans, Walworth County Health Officer Pat Grove said.

Rock County has 44 cases of the swine flu, or H1N1, while Walworth County has 36. Six people in Wisconsin have died from the swine flu.

Wisconsin has had more than 6,100 confirmed cases of the swine flu, the most in the country, but that's not because the state has more sick people, Cain said.

"The reason Wisconsin leads the nation in confirmed cases is because we have four labs that are doing testing," she said. "The state has been pretty aggressively testing compared to other states."

The state's high number of cases may poise itself for more vaccine shipments, Cain said. The state will receive the vaccines and allocate them to counties.

The state in June changed its recommendations on when to test for swine flu because the labs were overwhelmed, Cain said. If you go to the doctor now with flu-like symptoms, it's less likely you'll be tested for swine flu, she said.

Because many people don't seek medical attention, officials don't know the extent of swine flu in the community, she said.

But, "it's here, it's widespread," she said.

Testing is "considered" for moderately ill patients with flu-like symptoms but is "recommended" for health care workers, patients who live in residential facilities and people with severe illness or underlying health conditions, according to the guidelines.

Last year, 4,000 people received the $22 flu vaccine through the county health department. Cain expects an even higher demand this year because more people are aware of the flu. The department offers 10 to 12 clinics across the county and offers clinics at its two offices, but it may offer additional times if demand dictates, she said.