Limited supply may cut short Lake Co. vaccine clinics

Clinics to provide H1N1 flu vaccines at several locations in Lake County will begin as scheduled Thursday, but they could be cut short depending on demand.

The Lake County Health Department was the only registered entity in the county to receive any vaccine as of Tuesday, and the 12,600 doses on hand is far less than the 100,000 that have been ordered.

Health officials say they are anxiously awaiting future shipments, but have no idea when they will arrive.

"This is a long-term campaign," said Leslie Piotrowski, health department spokeswoman. "Eventually, we anticipate we'll get enough to get to everyone."

The start of vaccination clinics comes as the H1N1 virus is becoming so widespread the health department has stopped counting cases.

It is linked to the death last Friday of a 41-year-old Gurnee woman. "She had other medical conditions that increased her vulnerability to the virus," Piotrowski said.

A 74-year-old Gurnee man, who died June 2, was considered the first H1N1 related death. That man had "other significant medical conditions," she added.

So far, 14 people have been hospitalized during the current wave of H1N1. Twenty-six were hospitalized last spring.

The county's public, health department-sponsored clinics are scheduled for Thursday through Sunday at one specified location each in Round Lake Beach, Mundelein, Gurnee, Waukegan and North Chicago.

Officials say that's where the majority of the county's vaccine doses will be available, mostly in injectable form.

The remaining 1,375 doses are for patients at health department facilities and the staff members who have direct contact with them.

Based on the potential need - 300,000 Lake County residents fall into the risk categories for the H1N1 - the first come, first served supply may go quickly.

"We assume that there are going to be lines," Piotrowski said. Clinics will be canceled if supplies are exhausted.

Those seeking the vaccine are urged to visit the health department's Web site, www.lakecountyil.gov/health for constant updates on the availability.

Based on examples of people being turned away at other locations after long waits, Lake County will use a wrist band system at its clinics, Piotrowski said.

"If we see that we'll be running out of supply and see long lines, we'll hand out wrist bands ... so that there won't be a reason to wait two hours and find the vaccine has run out," she said.

Because the department received the vaccines Monday, Piotrowski said, it was too short a turnaround time to implement a registration system.

The department has been receiving a constant stream of calls from concerned residents, including 949 to its flu hotline, (847) 377-8350, since Oct. 13.

"It's a collaborative effort. There are 430 providers in Lake County registered to receive the vaccine. Right now, we're the only ones who have it," Piotrowski said.

The Illinois Department of Public Health is working to provide a statewide listing on its Web site of locations where the vaccine is available, she added.

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