No MC flu shot clinics this year

By Jane DeGeorge
Eagle Reporter
Published: October 16, 2008

Although the local health department will be offering free flu shots for some county children, it has scrapped public flu shot clinics from its usual schedule. 

“The primary goal of a health department is to meet a need for the public that’s not being met – but this need is being met with private doctors and drug stores,” said Jo Bond, the immunization coordinator for the Rappahannock-Rapidan Health District, which includes Madison County.

In the past, the health department has ordered flu vaccines it made available by appointment and during flu shot clinics in November.

“[Last year,] we received the flu vaccine so late, so many people had already got them from their doctors or at drug stores, which seems to be the current trend,” Bond said.

The district had to return about $15,000 in vaccines last year, according to district director Dana Bradshaw.
“We’re trying to avoid doing that again,” he said.

Typically the health department offers flu shots at the same cost as local private physicians and area pharmacies, however last year the department’s shots were more expensive, according to Bond.

“Some of the doctors’ offices and the big pharmacies can order such mass amounts, they can get it for cheaper,” she said.

Although the health department won’t be supplying flu shots to the general public, they will continue to offer free flu shots to certain groups of children, according to Bond.

To receive a free flu shot from the health department, a child must be younger than 19 years old and fall in one of the following categories:

• Enrolled in Medicaid.

• Uninsured or “underinsured,” meaning their insurance does not cover the cost of immunizations.

• Be a Native American or a Native Alaskan.

The district will also be ordering flu shots for their “OB patients and our homebound patients,” Bradshaw said.

The health department representatives say that the flu shot is “very widely available” in the community and that most doctors will not charge a separate doctor’s visit fee when patients come in to purchase and receive a flu shot. 

“Our role is for people who may not have access, to have access to them,” Bradshaw said. “We’ll make sure those who need it, will get it.”

Although anyone who wants to avoid the flu is encouraged to get vaccinated, health officials recommend that certain populations get the shot every year. This includes people who are 50 or older, women who are pregnant and children.

The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices and the American Academy of Pediatrics expanded their recommendation this year to include children 6 months-18 years old, according to the health department’s Web site. Previously, the groups only suggested that children get the shot until they are 4, the Web site states.

The health department will host a drive-through flu shot clinic drill at the Orange County Health Department and the Fauquier County Health Department on Monday, Nov. 3, the time will be announced later. Any interested Madison County residents may attend either drill and receive a free flu shot that day.
For information, call the Madison County Health Department at (540) 948-5481. 
UPDATE: After the preceding story appeared in the Oct. 16 Eagle, the Madison County Health Department decided to offer a flu shot clinic 1-3 p.m. Monday, Nov. 10. Flu shots and other immunizations are also available during the department’s regular immunization clinics set for 8:30-10:30 a.m. every second, third and fourth Monday of the month, including Nov. 10, 17 and 24. Flu shots cost $30. There will be free flu shots available during two different drive-through flu shot clinic drills on Monday, Nov. 3. The drill at Booster Park in Orange is set for 9 a.m.-1 p.m.; the drill at Lord Fairfax Community College in Warrenton is set for 2-6 p.m. Four-hundred free flu shots for people age 18 and older will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis at each drill. For information about any of these clinics, call the Madison County Health Department at (540) 948-5481.