Alan Mauldin
MOULTRIE — As of Monday afternoon, public health officials were down to 15 doses of swine flu vaccine, with no word on when additional supplies will be arriving.
Private health private providers will be receiving influenza vaccine. However, those wishing to get a flu shot at a doctor’s office or pharmacy will have to track the locations down themselves.
As of Monday afternoon. the Colquitt County Health Department had 15 doses of the spray mist, which largely has been made available for healthy individuals ages 2 to 24, health workers and people who care for young children, said department Director Denise Linnenkohl.
Colquitt County originally got 800 of the spray mists but about 250 of those were sent to nearby counties that had run out of the vaccine. The office received 200 of the injectable version of the vaccine, which were exhausted in about five days.
When the health department stayed open after hours on Nov. 11 to give vaccinations there were no takers, Linnenkohl said.
Colquitt County and the 13 other counties in the district, with the possible exception of Dougherty County, have decided that no after-hours vaccination clinics likely will be held for some time, said Carolyn Maschke, public information officer for the Southwest Public Health District.
Meanwhile health officials are waiting for additional supplies of the injectable vaccine.
“We will eventually get more injectable, and they will be distributed equally,” Maschke said. “We’ve been as fair about it as we can.”
Some people also may be able to run across the vaccine at private medical facilities and pharmacies.
The state has an online vaccine locator that gives a listing of potential locations. Residents can search for a list of those providers within a certain number of miles of a specific zip code, but must call around to determine if a provider actually has any of the vaccine.
The locator is at http://sendss.state.ga.us/sendss/!immuprov_track.h1n1_prov_locator.
As people wait to get an H1N1 influenza vaccine, health officials still encourage people to practice good hygiene such as frequent hand-washing and avoiding touching the face as well as staying home when sick with the flu.
“It’s frustrating for us too, (with) the fact the virus is still out there,” Maschke said of the lack of vaccine. “We do know there are a lot of people who think the virus is come and gone. But so often we see these pandemics come in waves.
“There is still more influenza in the district and in the state and in the nation than is normal. We have yet to see the peak season.”
