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By JEFF MEYERS
PLATTSBURGH — Clinton County is expecting shipments of H1N1 vaccine but is holding off scheduling any public clinics until ample supplies are available.
Nancy Smith, director of Preventive Services for the county's Health Department, offered an informational workshop Thursday evening at the Plattsburgh Public Library on how the public can deal with this new strain of influenza.
She also provided an update on where the county stands with the H1N1 vaccine supply.
"We've ordered a big, big chunk (of vaccines), but we just don't know when they will arrive," she said.
"We have provided vaccines to smaller groups such as obstetrics, pediatrics and emergency-medical personnel, but we don't have enough for open public clinics yet."
Essex and Franklin counties have offered a few clinics targeted at high-risk groups, such as pregnant women, caregivers of children under the age of 2 and people with underlying conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and kidney or liver disorders.
Each county is allocated a certain number of vaccine doses in proportion to population, Smith noted, and those vaccines are distributed among hospitals, doctors' offices, public-health offices and other health-care facilities.
"When you have rural counties, the local public health department may receive more vaccine because there are fewer doctors and smaller hospitals," she said.
According to State Health Department Spokesperson Claire Pospisil, New York state receives 6.3 percent of vaccine available nationally through the Centers for Disease Control.
Of that, 2.7 percent goes to New York City, and the rest is split between the remaining counties based on population.
"We are taking orders from the counties and then filling those orders based on the types of vaccines we are receiving," she said, explaining that as many as seven different kinds of the H1N1 vaccine are available, including the mist and standard shot doses.
"We're filling the orders to the best of our ability."
More than 5,000 health-care providers, including physicians and hospitals, have registered with the State Health Department to receive H1N1 vaccines when available.
"So far, we have received orders for 7 million doses of vaccine," Pospisil said. "We've been able to fill orders for 1 million doses."
Pospisil said she has recently been in touch with the CDC and has been told that vaccine production is expected to increase over the next few weeks, with 8 million doses becoming available nationally this coming week.
"It's important to note that we have two times more vaccine today than we had two weeks ago," she said.
Clinton County did hold a seasonal-flu clinic in Peru and provided vaccines to 700 people, she noted. Another clinic is set for 3 to 7 p.m. Monday at Champlain Centre near Borders.
The county will make immediate announcements when the H1N1 vaccine does arrive and clinics are scheduled, she said, adding that people in the high-risk categories should contact the Health Department or their health-care providers to determine availability of vaccine.
E-mail Jeff Meyers at: jmeyers@pressrepublican.com
