WQOW TV: Eau Claire, WI NEWS18 News, Weather, and SportsH1N1 vaccine distribution update

H1N1 vaccine distribution update

Madison (Press Release) - The Department of Health Services (DHS) is providing an update on the amount of H1N1 vaccine allocated to Wisconsin from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC allocates, or assigns, the amount of H1N1 vaccine each state will receive each week.

DHS places orders with the CDC for more than 2,000 public and private health care providers based on the state’s assigned allotment.  There is a lag time between the state receiving its allocation and providers receiving those doses.

Since the vaccine production has been slower than expected, the allotments have fluctuated significantly.  Currently, Wisconsin has been allotted a total of 697,700 doses of H1N1 vaccine.

Due to limited vaccine, DHS is recommending that local health departments and health professionals target H1N1 vaccine for those individuals most-at-risk during the next several weeks as the vaccine supply continues to fluctuate.  DHS recommends that public and private providers focus vaccination efforts on the following subset of CDC’s target groups:

• Pregnant women
• Persons who live with or provide care for infants age 6 months or younger (examples:  parents, siblings, daycare providers)
• Health care and emergency medical services personnel who have direct contact with patients or infectious material
• Children age 6 months - 4 years
• Children and adolescents age 5-18 years who have chronic medical conditions that put them at higher risk for influenza-related complications

Community vaccination clinics will resume as H1N1 vaccine becomes more readily available.  People may call 2-1-1 to find out an H1N1 or seasonal influenza vaccine clinic nearest them.  A “clinic finder” is also available online at http://pandemic.wisconsin.gov or www.wisconsinfluclinic.info.