H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccine Availability

For Immediate Release Contact:


Jessica Brown, PIO, 509-249-6516

Marisol Oviedo, PIO (habla español)

509-249-6513

Date: December 10, 2009

H1N1 (Swine Flu) Vaccine Availability Expanding to the GeneralPublic in Yakima County Starting  Monday December 14th

         The Yakima Health District (YHD) has advised its H1N1 vaccine providers that they may begin

administering vaccine to the general public starting Monday, December 14th, 2009. The decision

to expand availability is a result of more H1N1 vaccine coming into our community along with

waning demand among residents who originally qualified to receive the vaccine. Since the H1N1

vaccine situation varies from county to county, expansion decisions are being made by officials

within each local health jurisdiction individually. Therefore, vaccine availability may vary from

county to county during this transition phase.

While the overall number of H1N1 cases has declined dramatically from levels seen in the fall,

health officials in Yakima County are still seeing severe cases requiring hospitalization, as well

as deaths from the illness. Residents who fall into one of the original CDC target groups

(pregnant women, healthcare workers, emergency medical responders with direct patient contact,

household contacts and caregivers of infants less than 6 months old, all persons aged 6 months

through 24 years old, and persons 25 through 64 years old with underlying health conditions) are

still strongly encouraged to receive an H1N1 vaccination if they have not already.

As of December 10th, Yakima County has been allocated 61,920 doses of H1N1 influenza

vaccine. The vaccine has been distributed through approximately 90 sites throughout the county

including doctor’s offices, community health centers, and pharmacies. Each vaccine provider

determines the best method of providing H1N1 vaccine at their site. While some sites may begin

offering vaccine to the general public on Monday, others may reserve vaccine for high risk

patients within their practices who have yet to receive it.

YHD recommends that residents contact their regular healthcare provider to determine if they are

offering H1N1 vaccine. For residents who cannot access H1N1 vaccine through their regular

healthcare provider, a list of locations offering vaccine to the general public is available on the

YHD website (www.yakimapublichealth.org). Information is also available on YHD’s H1N1

information lines (249-6533 or 249-6511 for Spanish).

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