Swine flu: Santa Clara County declares emergency to spend $500,000 for vaccine clinics

http://www.mercurynews.com/ci_13452893?nclick_check=1

By Mark Gomez
mgomez@mercurynews.com

Posted: 09/30/2009 09:12:19 AM PDT
Updated: 09/30/2009 09:51:58 PM PDT

Worried that thousands of residents might not have access to the swine flu vaccine that is expected to become available in mid-October, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors declared a local emergency this week and set aside $500,000 to pay for specialized vaccination clinics in the community.
The supervisors' decision was based on recommendations from County Executive Jeff Smith and health officer Marty Fenstersheib, who said the H1N1 virus "continues to threaten the safety" of residents in Santa Clara County.
While county health officials are urging people to get their H1N1 vaccination shots from their personal physicians and health care providers, they realize many people in the community don't have that option.
There was no money in the Office of Emergency Services budget to pay for extra community vaccination clinics, according to Public Health Department spokeswoman Joy Alexiou.
"What we're going to do with our public health clinics is really fill in the gaps with people who might not have access to vaccines through a regular medical provider," Alexiou said. "This helps limit the spread of disease in our community and lessens the impact by getting this to those who need it most."
South Bay medical care providers who requested the vaccine, including the county health department, are expecting to receive their first shipment, about 244,000 combined doses, from the federal government the middle of this month. Health
Advertisement

care officials expect to receive weekly shipments through January, Alexiou said.
Those who are at greatest risk of contracting swine flu — people ages 5 to 24 — will be first in line to receive the vaccination shots. Other high-risk groups include children 4 and younger, pregnant women and the chronically ill.
"They're the highest number of cases in the country," Alexiou said of the 5-to-24 set. "This flu seems to be affecting them more so than a seasonal flu. They're the ones getting sick the most."
There are indications that H1N1 is spreading through the community, and emergency departments are seeing more people with influenzalike illness, according to Smith and Fenstersheib.
"Once we get to all the groups at risk, the vaccine would become available to virtually anyone who wants it in the community," Alexiou said.
The $500,000 will be transferred from the county's general fund contingency reserve to the Office of Emergency Services. Government Code Section 8630 authorizes the Board of Supervisors to proclaim a local emergency when the county is threatened or likely to be threatened by dangerous conditions that could otherwise overwhelm county services, personnel, equipment and facilities.
In issuing its proclamation Tuesday, the board noted that human cases of swine flu increased in the United States from April 3 to Sept. 15, including more than 2,000 reported cases in California and 85 reported hospitalizations in the county. During that same time span, there were 167 reported deaths in California, including eight in Santa Clara County.
"We continue to take proactive measures to prepare and respond in the face of this increasing health threat by declaring a local emergency in response to the threat of H1N1," Liz Kniss, president of the Board of Supervisors, said in a statement. "Decisive action is called for with the expected increase of flu transmission in fall and winter."
Smith and Fenstersheib also noted that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that transmission of H1N1 is still spreading and may affect more people in the Northern Hemisphere this fall and winter. They also wrote that the virus "is likely to be beyond the control of the county's services, personnel, equipment and facilities, requiring the combined forces of other political subdivisions to fight it."
"Because the pandemic H1N1 virus is a new flu strain, people have little or no immunity, and it has spread worldwide," Fenstersheib said in a statement. "Everyone should practice basic preventative measures to help limit the spread of the flu — including hand washing and staying home when sick. And get your seasonal flu vaccine now."