The city's first mass H1N1 vaccination clinic wil be held for infants and pregnant women Thursday at the Government Center.
The clinic, which will be from 5 to 8 p.m. in the center's lobby, is only open to pregnant women and children from 6 to 35 months, said Anne Fountain, the city's emergency management coordinator.
No appointments are necessary. People will be treated on a first-come, first-serve basis, said Fountain.
Manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur, the vaccine the city received late last week is the first batch of injectable H1N1 doses the city has gotten since the second wave of the H1N1 flu hit the country in late August.
As of Tuesday, the state has received 380,000 doses of H1N1 vaccine, despite officials' estimates that Connecticut would see 500,000 doses by mid-October, a
representative said.
The city has distributed more than 700 doses of the intranasal vaccine spray, but guidelines from the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend not vaccinating pregnant women and those with underlying medical conditions, such as asthma, with the inhalant vaccine.
Pregnant women and young children are two of the groups at greatest risk of having complications due to H1N1.
City health director Dr. Johnnie Lee said the city will have additional vaccination clinics next week and expand the groups eligible for the clinic.
Lee said the city is prepared for Thursday night, though health
officials are not sure what turnout to expect.
Though the city won't require documentation, beside a birth date, to receive the vaccine, Lee said he doubts fraud will be an issue.
"I don't think anyone would do that ... with the understanding that the following week, you're going to able to go to a clinic where those older children will be able to get vaccine," he said.
He added the dosage for children 6 to 35 months is not the correct dosage for other age groups.
Stamford Hospital has seen a slight increase of H1N1 cases in the last week.
The hospital sees an average of 13 cases of influenza-like-illness each day, with about four or five cases positive for H1N1, said Dr. Michael Parry, Stamford Hospital's chief of infectious diseases.
"Pediatrics has been fairly busy," Parry said, "but the adult side has not been too much busier."
On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., announced he is preparing emergency legislation that would guarantee up to seven paid sick days for those infected by the H1N1 virus.
Dodd said his legislation is intended to slow the spread of the disease by encouraging those with flu-like symptoms to stay home.
Staff Writer Devon Lash can be reached at 203-964-2242 or devon.lash@scni.com.
Pregnant women and children from 6 to 35 months will be treated at a first-come, first-serve H1N1 vaccination clinic from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the Stamford Government Center. To see more of The Stamford Advocate, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.stamfordadvocate.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Stamford Advocate, Conn. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.
Copyright (C) 2009, The Stamford Advocate, Conn.