Flu vaccine is plentiful

Thursday, Oct. 13, 2005 | 7:26 a.m.

Fighting the flu

Source: Clark County Health District Office of Epidemiology

There's plenty of flu vaccine to go around, so there's no need for anyone to fret over whether they will be able to get a flu shot this year, health officials say.

The Clark County Health District won't begin offering flu vaccine to the general public until Oct. 24, but it's already available at many doctors' offices and at places such as Wild Oats Natural Markets.

The organic foods stores will host flu vaccination clinics Fridays through Sundays through the end of the month, with medical staff from Professional Flu Clinics providing preservative-free vaccine to adults 18 and older for $25 a shot.

The cost for Health District flu shots will be $30 per person, unless government or private health care coverage picks up the cost.

The flu season generally runs from October into May, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last year 124 cases of the flu were reported to the Health District, but none of them were fatal. Health officials worldwide fear that there may soon be a new strain of pandemic flu that will be more deadly than flus of the past, but so far that fear has not been realized.

The flu vaccine currently available is for the three most common strains of the flu, not the feared avian flu.

Some people are more vulnerable to the flu than the general population. That's why health officials urge those 65 years of age or older, residents of long-term care homes, anyone 2 or older who suffers from chronic illness, children ages six months to 23 months, pregnant women and health care workers to get flu shots.

The Health District is already inoculating people in nursing homes and other institutions, said Jennifer Sizemore, a Health District spokeswoman.

For other high-risk people, Health District staff will offer flu shots for $30 each from 9 a.m. until noon on Tuesday at the Las Vegas Senior Center, 451 E. Bonanza Road at Las Vegas Boulevard North.

Additional information on the flu and flu vaccinations is available on the Health District's Web site at www.cchd.org.

For more information, contact the Health District Immunization Project at 383-1351.

Mary Manning can be reached at (702) 259-4065 or manning@lasvegassun.com.