Two H1N1 flu shot clinics to be offered Saturday

By Mary Manning

Friday, Nov. 6, 2009 | 11:14 a.m.

The Southern Nevada Health District is offering two H1N1 flu vaccine clinics from 10 a.m. until 6 p.m. Saturday.

The clinics will be held at the main public health center, 625 Shadow Lane, which is north of West Charleston Boulevard and west of Martin Luther King Boulevard, and the Henderson public health center at 520 E. Lake Mead Parkway.

Injectable vaccines will be offered to those who can't use the inhaled vaccine, especially pregnant women and children between 2 and 18 years old who have chronic medical conditions, health officials said.

In addition, others eligible to receive H1N1 immunization injections include people with underlying medical conditions or those over the age of 49 who live with or care for children younger than 6 months old, health care and emergency medical services personnel 50 years and older or those with underlying medical conditions who have direct patient contact. It also includes children 6 months to 2 years old.

Inhaled vaccine in the form of FluMist will be offered to healthy people, including women who are not pregnant, those who are 2 and 49 years old and live with or care for children younger than 6 months of age; health care and emergency medical workers 49 and younger with direct patient contact and healthy people and women who are not pregnant between the ages of 2 and 24 years old.

As of Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that H1N1 influenza, also known as swine flu, is the only strain appearing in 48 states reporting widespread cases.

The H1N1 flu is striking higher numbers of younger people and 129 children have died from H1N1 since it emerged in April, said Dr. Anne Schuchat of the CDC.