Flu clinics under way in Greenbrier County]

By Tina Alvey

Frustrating shortages in vaccine supply are finally beginning to ease somewhat in Greenbrier County, leading the health department to schedule two H1N1 vaccine clinics this month, along with seasonal flu clinics every Monday.

An H1N1 clinic will be Wednesday at the state fairgrounds in Fairlea from 9:30 a.m. until either the vaccine runs out or 4 p.m., whichever occurs first.

A second H1N1 clinic is scheduled Nov. 18 at the armory in Rainelle from 9 a.m. until either 3 p.m. or the time at which vaccine supply is depleted.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and state guidelines dictate that only the following groups will be considered for vaccination during the H1N1 clinics:

- Pregnant women,

- Household contacts and caregivers of children under 6 months of age,

- Health care workers and emergency medical personnel who give direct patient care,

- Individuals age 6 months to 24 years and

- Individuals age 25-64 with health conditions associated with increased risk of complications.

Those age 65 and older are not eligible for the H1N1 vaccine at this point.

“The CDC says apparently the incidence of illness from the H1N1 virus is not as high in that older age group as it is in other high-risk groups,” explained Gay Sebert, nursing director at the Greenbrier County Health Department.

“There is hope there will be an abundance of vaccine at some point, and it will be available for other patients,” she added. “Right now, even though the shipments are better, our target groups are larger than the supply.”

Sebert noted, “It’s frustrating for the medical community, and frustrating and anxiety-producing for the public.”

She said each county in the state is making tough decisions about what to do with limited vaccine supplies.

“We decided (in Greenbrier County) to share some of what we had with a few groups of providers who were approved by the state,” Sebert said. “Those providers had signed agreements with the state to abide by the terms set forward to give vaccines to high-risk patients. We also tried to target the providers not on the (state-approved) list who had the highest-risk patients — cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, for example.”

Sebert said she is now collaborating with the county’s school nurses to stage “a couple” of clinics targeting school-age children.

The school system’s head nurse, Pat Withrow, said absenteeism due to illness is relatively high, but not all of it can be attributed to flu. She said 77 students were absent from Lewisburg Elementary School last Thursday, for example.

“We have been calling parents, and we’re finding they’re not all flu absences,” Withrow noted. “The reasons vary from strep, stomach (trouble), flu — all of them are going around.”

She said absences at Greenbrier East High School and Eastern Greenbrier Middle School appeared to spike earlier this month and have now leveled off.

She emphasized that seasonal flu is not yet a problem; the flu affecting the county’s school children is connected to the H1N1 virus.

Asked if schools could be closed if absenteeism rises, Withrow responded, “The CDC’s recommendations are not to close schools unless we cannot keep them open safely, in other words, unless we don’t have enough teachers in the classrooms for the students who are there.”

She explained, “There are huge implications for families if schools close. They have to arrange for child care without much notice or stay home from work with their children. It has a major impact on the family.”

At this point, the school system is coping because few educators have been stricken with any of the ailments, including flu, that are making their way through the student body, Withrow said.

— E-mail: talvey@register-herald.com